2015.08.15 Ferrari Drive
I've never driven a Ferrari before.
Thanks to my beloved wife - before she was my beloved wife - I got a chance to ride in a Ferrari 360 Modena. It was exquisite. There's nothing quite like a very fine automobile.
Except, of course, for actually driving one.
No, that probably needs qualification. My rather low opinion of most people's driving strongly suggests that, actually - for most people - driving a Ferrari would actually be somewhat less good. Because most people not only couldn't appreciate its abilities, but actually would find the means to those abilities somewhat off-putting. The comfortable and interesting passenger seat is probably a more positive experience for most people than the temperamental controls and the responsibility of the driver's seat. And I can't deny that I quailed at the thought of having to pay for even curb rash on the wheels of the overpriced beast.
That being said: holy shit it's fast. And the sounds and sensations of holding down that starter button: glorious. And on lap 2 of the all-too-short autocross course, when I started to get a feel for the machine, the driving was sublime.
Then it was over. And I was grinning.
Several thoughts have occurred to me since:
- My old Porsche 911 C4S would have been faster on that course. 160 less horsepower at the crank, but probably could have put more power down through much of the circuit.
- It made me appreciate even more the power delivery of the Tesla Model S. The big sedan would have had trouble keeping up in the tight course, but I wouldn't have made anywhere near as many incorrect throttle guesses. The Ferrari had me a half-beat behind where I meant to feed in thrust, and too-often recovering from unexpected surges in the torque curve.
- The creeping cynicism that has choked my enthusiasm for ever owning a Ferrari was temporarily swept aside at the palpable thrill of actually mounting up and going hard in the F430. In the same way that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", extraordinary ownership costs can be justified by extraordinary joy.