As the rumors fly around the F1 world of Bernd Maylander’s retirement as the F1 Safety Car driver, I decided to through my hat into the ring of possible successors.

So I decided get behind the wheel of a Mercedes AMG GT S to get some feel for my new job. I did so by heading over to Exotics Racing in Las Vegas, and signed up for 7 laps in a MAMGGTS. Unfortunately, I had two points of failure: Turns out Maylander is not retiring, and this detuned MAMGSGTS was a bit of a disappointment.

Maybe disappointment is an overstatement, more like, I expected more and it just didn’t quite deliver. And you can tell by the fact that I really didn’t have much to say during the video. The whole time I was thinking, “Where is the real MAMG?” The GT S version is listed at 503hp. Honestly, it felt more like high 3’s or maybe just cracking 400. My GT550 plants me in the seat more than this.

Coming onto the main straight, you roll onto the throttle, and the car limps up to speed. So next lap, you punch the throttle, and it’s the same thing. The turbo lag was huge! The disappointment immense. But I’m not sure if this was a detuned safety feature, or if the real MAMG suffers through this as well. Guess I’ll have to go buy one and find out. I actually found one here in L.A. for $94k. Only 25k miles and gray. Great, cause I did not want a black! A black AMG is so L.A.

The car is, as expected, well balanced, but I probably was not going fast enough to really get a proper feel of under/over steer. But at the same time, that back-end did step out ever so slightly on the off-camber turn 5.  Way too soft for a racer. Also, at the end of the straight, you slam on the brakes, and unlike anything I’ve felt in the $150k+ supercar range, I feel the ABS kicking back and squirming under the pressure. With those huge slotted AND cross-drilled rotors, I figured this thing would stop on a dime. But closer inspection reveals a lack of Brembos or even the home grown Mercedes 6-piston calipers. So again, maybe part of the detuning is to not allow the car to stop on a dime, and thereby keeping novice drivers from overstepping their limits.

The interior of the car was quite nice though. All sorts of chrome knobs to turn and switches to flick. Starting the engine, that rumble is beautiful! The sound is something that, now that I think about it, sounds weird. The car is a front engine, but when you start it, the rumble comes through as if its coming from the rear. Maybe some audio piping? Maybe just the acoustics of the cabin. And why not, since it’s a 2-seater. This gives it a racers edge as if its a mid engine. The V8 sound is low and rumbly, contrary to a Ferrari purr or a Nissan scream. It sounds more NASCAR oval racer than F1 road car.

The steering wheel is a plump handful of suede to grip. I was intrigued as to how full uniformed it was, all the way around the hand grips. No thumb bulge to provide that extra leverage. Guess they never had an issue getting this thing around Monaco. The paddle shifters have interesting inscriptions: Up and Down. Well, if you’re paying $200k for a new MAMGGTS and you need inscriptions telling you which way to shift… then inscriptions you shall have. I just thought this the one of the more weird things I saw on the car. But again, maybe this was for the novices at the track. Something Exotics had inscribed for them. Who knows? Let’s head down tomorrow to confirm if this is on the public cars 🙂

Driving around Milan is unlike anything or anywhere I’ve driven before. Feeling the mighty thrust of the 51hp from our Citroen rental, we hit the town and are met with the world’s bumpiest, lumpiest streets. Yes, the cobblestone streets like great in pictures, but driving across their washboard surface is another matter. Maybe that’s why so many people take the trains or just walk.

True to European standards, the streets are narrow, everyone parks everywhere there’s 3 meters to fit a 3 meter car into, and amazingly enough, the drivers are courteous and polite. Our 30 minute drive through the neighborhoods was interesting, and definitely showed us sights we would have otherwise missed, but boy was I happy to get out of that car!

The one bright spot I can for sure recommend, Google map guided us all the way. Make sure you download the local area, and you’re good to go. No need to pay for the rental GPS, unless you plan on multiple, spontaneous destinations. From our hotel, the Park Hyatt in Centro Milano, we downloaded an area that covered a 1 hour drive out of the city, and Google Map provided satellite support all the way. Awesome!

Here they come, the first lap of an F1 race is always super exciting. Mainly, due to the unknown circumstances that may bode a competitor. And there lies the conundrum of modern F1 racing: Take the most technologically advanced cars in the world…and hope they crash into one another. If yes, exciting and thrilling…and expensive for the teams. If not, well, just another parade of cars going by.

So the Italian Grand Prix is known as the fastest race in F1. The Monza circuit is a throw back to the original F1 series, officially started in 1950, but the cars had been running the basic track since 1922. Monza was the third race-purpose track built in the world. Yes, the world. Meaning as purposely designed and paved for racing. Unlike the circuits of Spa, Belgium and Nurburg, Germany, whose tracks where loops through the country side running between towns at lengths of 10 and 20 kilometers respectively, Monza was the Italian contribution to the desire for speed within a purpose built raceway. The original Monza track, still visible today, had corners banked at some 30 degrees, was an inspiration to NASCAR high speed banked tracks such as Daytona, Darlington and Talladega. Today, those once mighty banks are crumbling to history and neglect.

What we thought would be awesome seats at the first chicane, turned out to be only partially true. Although Turn One is always action packed, check out Palmer into the Barrier at Monaco, since it’s the first braking point after hitting maximum speeds down the main straight, it’s main straight view was unfortunately blocked by trees. What!?! Why??? Oh, so this is how they separate the desirable main grandstand views and offer these seats at a much more discounted price. So everyone thinks, great, I’ll see them coming down the straight, I’ll get to see brake dust flying out as they slam the calipers, but no! You hear them, and then…wait for it…wait for it, they come poking out from behind the trees and into the Turn 1. So when Daniel Ricciardo dives down the inside of Kimi Raikkonen for the pass, you basically see just the tail end of the move. A little anit-climatic in my opinion. But one thing you do get to see, are the cars accelerating out of the turn as they head towards Curva Grande. Seeing an F1 car accelerate in race mode is pretty awesome. Like watching paint dry really, really, really fast. It may not look like much to the untrained eye, but if you’ve been watching racing as long as I have, you see it, and it’s awesome!

Imagine driving your dream car. Nice! The sound, the drive, the looks from the pedestrians. Now imagine that drive happening in the streets of Paris! OMG! Could it get any better!?! Answer: No.

But it could get worse. Imagine your dream drive of your dream car in your dream city…in a light mist 🙁 I mean, had it been raining, I never would have even thunk it. But a little sprinkle is doable.

So you strap in, fire her up, and head down tiny narrow little cobblestone streets in a slippery mist, and the attendant tells you to nail it! So what do you do? PANIC!!!

Now, you want me to floor it in a $200k Ferrari, in a light mist.The kind of light mist where Felipe Masa spun his Ferrari 5 times in a single race. Yeah, that kind of mist. Oh brother. But I did it. Fortunately for me, the Ferrari was de-tuned, (I mean come on! Did you see the motorcycle giving me a run?) and the streets were packed with traffic, so that encouraged me to take it easy.

We started at the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs d’ Elysee. I see these guys with “drive a supercar” signs and inquire. “100 euros,” he responds. “Wait…I think” OK, I’ve been down this path before, 100 euros will probably get me some parking lot and 3 laps. “No man. You can do a Ferrari and we take you through Paris for about 15 mins. And we take you down some streets and you can floor it!” Oh hellz yeah, I’m in!

I grab Nancy from the store and we run back out to go for a drive. But since now there are 3 of us, and yes, there was a slight moment when I thought, “Just make it 2 of us”, we pass on the 458, and instead, hop in the California. We put the top down and drive up a back street, hit a main street, possibly Avenue George V, and I punch it! I couldn’t believe it. It’s one thing to hit a Ferrari for top speed at Exotics Racing in the Vegas desert, but this was Paris. Downtown Paris…downtown rush hour Paris…in the rain! And then the most chilling part of the ride, there are several section of the road that go under ground. This keeps us away from police cameras and allows us to nail it! As as we enter the tunnel, and if my heart wasn’t pounding enough, my wife points out, this is the under pass where Princess Diana crashed! Oh crap! Are you serious!?! The panic sets in and I lift. And from that moment on, all I could think is rain…slide…crash! But I keep my composure, and try to drive as fast as I feel comfortable. It was actually a relief to just sit there in traffic and see the lights change and not move.

So we get through the traffic and make it to the Eiffel Tower, take a couple of pics, have some people take pictures of us (us, really!) and then we head back. Seeing the Eiffel Tower like that reminded me of the double win of this drive. Not only did I get to drive the Ferrari, but I get to see another side of Paris I would have otherwise missed. We head, but no more under passes, just moderate driving…wait here’s a spot, punch it! Ok, now we’re back on Champs and headed to the pits. But still, an exhilarating drive, taking for granted that this was a Ferrari…in Paris…in the rain. Eat your heart out Fred Astaire!

Not to brag about my race track prowesss, but come on man… passing 3 cars in the span of 2 laps!?! That’s Lewis Hamilton stuff!

That was some serious Hammer Time! @LewisHamilton ya feel me? Too bad I didn’t get the in-car this time, but that was one car that I’ll need to do again. Not the actual Gallardo, but I see now that Exotics Racing has the new Lamborghini Huracán Performante! What!?! Yes, the Performante. The Lamborghini that broke the production car speed record at Nurburing with a time 6:52:01. A whopping 48 seconds faster than my fastest time of 7:40:14 in my McLaren 570S. Of course, my McLaren was on my Xbox One. So again, to be able to get behind the wheel of one on a race track!?! Count me in!!! Anyway, that should be this June, as for our March visit to Vegas, I promised myself the McLaren 570S that ER has ready. The McLaren meets my definition of a supercar, the 3-2’s: Faster than 200mph. More the $200k, and less than 200 delivered to any one country market. So it’s on the bucket list.

But back to the Lamborghini. Wow, what a ride. Scary to say the least. The Ferrari 430 Scud was my first car to drive at Exotics Racing. Since then, the Audi R8, Aston Martin, Nissan GT-R, Porsche GTS. But the Gallardo was the only one that truly scared me. Turn 3 on the track is an off camber horseshoe, and jumping on the gas at the right moment means you’ll be facing the wrong direction. Wicked fast, the car intimidated me from the moment I sat in it. It feels like a super car. It feels out of this world. It feels like it’s ready to start up and head out with or without you. I could actually see this car turning into a Transformer. Damn! Twice the backend felt like it was stepping over the limit. By the time I got a hold of it, we were pulling into the pits. Damnit! OK, then the Performante will be my sweet revenge.

Lamborghini has always been the evil twin to Ferrari. Ferraris are the sleek and sensuous Yin, Lambos are the maschismo, bad ass Yang. (Actually the Yin is the more evil of the two. Sorry ladies.)  But now Lamborghini has decided enough with the trash talk that they are all looks, and stepped it up with the Perfomante. After years of success with the Super Trefeo racing series, they finally picked up enough track knowledge to get back into the ring with a serious performance driving machine. I can’t wait! But since the LHP is also one of the more expensive rides, I’ll need to save up a couple of pennies first. But rest assured, after some serious practice in the McLaren in March, by the time June rolls around, I’m going to drive the hell out of that thing, come hell or high water. Plus, they have insurance, right? Oh well, as long as I can drive it home, I’ll pay for it. “Mom, dad, I’m moving back home.”

Here’s my first drive of a high performance Porsche. My dad’s ’72 914 doesn’t count here. This GTS may not have the knock out punch of the others, but its smoothness will score major points in the ring.

The first thing I notice when I punch it, it doesn’t throw me into the back of the seat as the others do, but that’s ok, it’s smoothness is very comforting in a different manner. But then its time for the brakes to do their thing, and that steering input feels so right, you find yourself wondering what club Pauly D is DJ-ing tonight. It’s that smooth that your mind actually begins to wonder because everything is well taken care. The car doesn’t feel like its going to break away at any minute and you’re going to smack that wall. You turn, it turns. You brake, it brakes.

And suddenly, I get it. I get the comments from drivers of modern super cars when they say it’s almost “boring”. How is driving 100mph+ boring?

This is how. Everything in it’s place, and a place for everything. You’re sitting in the car, not on it. You’re not herding cats here, its more like feeding pigeons. And then you relaize, this is something you could drive to work, then the gym, then the grocery store, every day, and then nail it on the 405 coming home and not break a sweat. Just smile from ear to ear knowing everything is gonna be alright. Daddy likes!

Sometimes less is more: Less money for the car, More fun for the drive.

I decided to go the economy route and do the Nissan GTR. It’s one of Exotics Racing’s least expensive and since last night, the blackjack table showed what a novice I was, I figured it should be a good time for the money. After all, the car is packing around 545hp under the hood, how bad could it be? My only dread about the car is that it is so non-super car looking, you stand there thinking, “I should be in that Ferrari right now. Why am I driving this box?” Like I said, around 545hp!! It looks like any other car parked at Costco. Plain. Bland. No meaningful design to it whatsoever. I can’t find a graceful line on car. It looks like the car that you say, “Wait until next year’s model!” Maybe this car came from some tuner privateer project and Nissan said, “All right, all right, alright! Quit bugging us about taking your dad’s car and tuning it up. Here’s a $1mil, we’ll crank out a couple thousand and be done with it.” No design. No revisions. No Nissan stamp on it. Remember, this is the company that produced the 280Z, the current 370Z, and the Nissan Cube, three of the coolest cars to ever hit the pavement. Come on, who doesn’t love an asynchronous setup on the rear lift door?

One nice aspect of the GTR, besides the 545hp, the interior does look ready for racing. It’s solid, stark, but competent. The steering wheel just looks like fun and speed with all those buttons. And there’s just enough brush aluminum plastic trim to give it some sport feel. Actually, it looks totally cheesy, again, a reduex from your dad’s ’73 GT-R. But when you get that close, all you can think of is 545hp! And anything looks sporty when it’s tied to the 545hp sitting 3 feet in front of you. Oh well…

The cool thing about Exotics Racing, the base package of 5 laps adds one more for free, a Vegas setup 6 for 5 odds. And then since a penny saved is a penny earned, the sales pitch to throw in 2 extra laps for the price of one was not something to pass up. Thank you Ben Franklin! So 7 laps it is and off we go. Upon start up, it sounds like a JT, Japan Tuned. More of a purr than a roar. But a loud strong purr. Barry, my instructor gives me a couple of pointers and off we go. On the track, it felt strong. I drove the GT-R after the Audi and Aston Martin, and it topped them in every category. The car feels fast, planted and ready to be raced. And punching the throttle heading on to the main straight, you feel the G’s planting you in the seat. Nice! A couple of turns, some braking, and a good time was had by all. And when I realize that I could afford one of these, my wheels were really turning! Oh oh… daddy approves!