Had the opportunity to participate in the Gotham Dream Cars tour this week. In case you are not familiar with the Dream Car Tour, Gotham Dream Cars runs “outings” three days a week in the Northern NJ and New York area. Essentially, you and five other drivers take six exotics out on a pre-planned route stopping every 20-30 minutes to switch cars. The route covered highway and secondary twisty roads. By the end of the three hour tour you will have driven all six cars.

The cars that we took on the tour the day I went were:

Bentley Continental GTC
BMW M6 convertible
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder (w/straight pipes)
Lamborghini LP-560 Spyder
Ferrari F430 Spider
Ferrari 599 GTB

A couple of impressions.

The Bentley was big and had the most creature comforts (seats that message you?). Not exactly quick off the line, but once it got going it is deceptively fast. A bit of turbo lag but nothing that detracted from the experience. For the record, my 20 year old son liked this one the best.

The BMW was very much the GT. It was very impressive in M mode. While lacking the “wow” factor of the Italians it is no slouch performance wise. Kind of a stealthy “exotic”.

The Lamborghinis. The Gallardo Spyder with the straight pipes was intoxicating. I could have listened to that all day long. Both were very quick but I found the brakes somewhat non-linear and the 3-2 down shifts in both were clunky. Both certainly get a lot of attention. Both seemed raw and visceral.

The F430. What can I say? The most “underpowered” of the bunch at only 490 hp. To me it seemed the most balanced and with more seat time probably the car I could drive closest to its (and my limited) potential. The steering was so quick and precise. Easy to modulate the brakes. The most complete car as far as performance, visual appeal, excitement, etc.

The 599. Out of this world. Effortless to drive. Staggeringly quick. The car just flew. Almost seems a waste to drive the car on the street where it is probably only ever going to see 20% of its potential.

So, why did I post this here? Well after the day was over I got into my 06 997 and started home. I have the Gundo Hack so the exhaust sounds pretty good. As good as the Lambos or Ferraris? Yes but in a different way. My car handles well and stops well too. I didn’t feel that I was giving up all that much when compared to the Dream Cars.

So while it may not be an exotic, to me anyway the 997 is the perfect blend of performance, visual appeal and everyday usability. With the 997 you can get near exotic type acceleration and in most cases better handing/braking. I guess I appreciated the 997 even more after driving the other cars.

However, if I were to find a F430 Spider in my driveway one morning, I wouldn’t complain.

Thanks for reading.

PS. If you are in NY/NJ (or South FLA in the Winter) check out the Dream Car Tour. It really is a great experience.

 

Very cool. Out of curiousity, how much does something like that run... and even more importantly, how does the insurance situation work out? I wonder if I'd be too timid to drive around an unfamiliar, high horsepower, supercar hard enough to really appreciate what I'm driving.

 

Do you get to pick which cars go out from their stable of vehicles?

I usually go down to South Florida for New Years and was thinking of signing up for this at the end of this year.

I think the price is about ~$900.00

 

Responding in order.

It runs less than a $1,000 for the session (remember there are both morning and afternoon sessions). I would opt for the morning.

Insurance is covered under your personal policy plus a refundable $5,000 depost provided you are not crazy.

Trust me, you get to enjoy the cars. Did I hit the top end of the F430 in Bear Mountain Park? No! But did I enjoy carving up the turns and listening to that Marinello symphony behind me? No doubt!

You are encouraged to explore these cars within the bounds of common sense. For the money, to drive six exotics you can't go wrong.

BTW I m not affiliated in any way with Gotham. I am not that lucky.

PS. You don't get to chose the cars.