please hold any flames until the end.

where to start...

just came home from a day long event held by www.wcdriving.com where we were allowed to drive and I mean DRIVE (over 110 mph when safe) 6 cars:

bentley gt
db9 convertible
c6 z06
gallardo coupe MT
f430 coupe
f430 spyder








I'll try to make this brief and succinct.

for reference, toyota camry fun to drive factor=1/lotus elise=9

bentley gt:

as a sporty car, forget it. numb everything, heavy, but smooth like peanut butter. quiet with only a low humming wind at 100 mph. fun to drive factor=2

db9 volante:

slightly less numb than the bentley, could feel body flex, crazy windy as it lacked windscreen, paddle shifting auto was poor, gauges were to die for, interior was nice, but less impressive in reality than pics, looks way better than it drives. fun to drive factor=3

z06:

obviously crappy interior, comfortable seats, like a couch, HUD excellent with lateral g meter, SO MUCH power that is simply scary on every hard acceleration, poor clutch feel, shifter improved over c5 but still not fun to use, steering is too numb for such a car, insane amount of grip, but it never felt precise. so much performance for the price, but it's hard to explain why it doesn't feel good. it's like brute force without finesse or enough road feedback. my friend who did the event with me commented that for the money, he would rather get a rs4. cabin felt hot, stuffy and uncomfortable quickly. fun to drive factor=6

gallardo:

wasn't expecting too much as reviews haven't been that great, but it was a fun car. it looks great and seats were the most comfortable out of them all. interior not so nice as all the buttons made it feel like a airplane cockpit. Everyone of the cars had massively dangerous blind spots which were no joking matter. the metal gated shifter was horrible and the DBW delay of the gas was extremely annoying on every rev matched downshift. steering was excellent and overall driving feel was great. engine had nice tone. would want to try the convertible out. fun to drive factor=8

f430 coupe/spyder:

the ferraris were the reason i did the event. everything that i've heard about the car is true. it IS that good. however, the interior is a joke. poor button placement. at night, they have a sick old green honda glow. makes you want to laugh. people will say that the interior isn't the point, but it is so bad that it makes it an issue. the lower parts of the seats were very supportive but the upper shoulder part inhibited steering. gauges were hard to read and makes you appreciate our huge rpm display. the accelerator, brakes, steering, paddle shifters, computer rev matched downshifts all excellent. but after constantly hearing the engine, the sound during shifts can be so sharp that it becomes bothersome. it's something you wouldn't think of until you spend an extended amount of time with the car, but it would be nice if there was a quiet button. the hid light output is subpar. the wind in the spyder at speed wasn't too bad. the body still felt very stiff even compared to the coupe. operation of the convertible top was harsh sounding and long, but it tucks away cleanly. bottomline, everyone should drive one of these one time in their life. fun to drive factor=10


all that being said, the big deal for me is regarding the s2000. while all of these uber cars have loads of power, you learn quickly that it take a combination of many factors to make a great car. when i refer to the s2000, im taking into consideration some of my mods: 4.56 gears, act pp, axialflow shortshifter. adding a SC will make things even closer. our cars are not as fast at the drag strip or overall at the track, but there is a magic that none of the exotics had. i'll only compare it to the ferrari cuz, honestly, that was the only real fun factor competitor. our clutch and shifter are far more enjoyable to use than the f1 paddles. nimble turn in, gas pedal feedback/response and seats were superior to the f430. i'm sure no one will believe me, but the bottomline is that i would love to have a f430 and reap whatever social benefits that may come with it, not to mention the beautiful looks (which you don't get to enjoy since you are inside the car), but i was glad to be back in the s2000. further explanation of this conclusion is needed, but it's late and im tired.

if you didn't want to read the essay from above, all i mean to say is that the s2000 is THAT GREAT of a car. even next to a ferrari. s2000 fun factor=10.

i feel the flames coming.

 

I demand more pictures of the F430s!!!

 

Long?

Did you fall asleep? lol

Hmm maybe well get the rest in the morning, goodnight!

 

430 coupe is gods chariot

 

almost fell asleep writing.

more pics:

 

I can see why you felt that the cars weren't so good (except for Ferrari). I haven't driven any of these cars, but I feel that all the other cars aren't truly sports cars, with the exception of the Ferrari and maybe the Lambo. The Corvette is nice, but just ... isn't very refined. They are all definitely exotics though.

Would be nicer if you had the chance to drive a 911 turbo.

 

met a guy there who did drive the 997 turbo and said it was fast, but nothing interesting compared to the ferrari. he said it does its job, but doesn't inspire.

 

Sounds like you guys had fun .

Also, it's great to hear you have some nice words for an exotic like the F430 . Interesting your comments about the interior, I thought it was pretty darn nice, although I wasn't focused on the button placement, and I did not see the instrument panel at night. Ditto on the paddles not being as much fun however.

I'm curious as to which car FELT the fastest? Was it the Z06? You didn't really mention anything about the power in the other cars, except for the Chebby. Well, then again, it was probably one of the fastest there.

What roads did you take?

I understand what you're saying about the fun to drive factor. It's pretty cool that our car is "slow" enough to rip up to redline occasionally, without immediately committing an automotive felony . Drives I've had in Ferrari's have only left me realizing how similar they "feel" to the S2000. They're like the S2000 on Crack. AND Speed.

Glad you had fun

 

I'm also interested in hearing which car "felt" fastest. Also, there is so much talk about the Z06 having a "cheap" interior, but you also comment on the Ferrari sharing the same problem. Was the 430 much better inside than the Vette?

 

ok, keep sending questions cuz i dont know what you guys want to know.

the ferrari interior is nice compared to the z06. the materials were high quality, but when you actually use it, i felt that it was ugly and designed badly. the tach and speedo in the ferrari were poor compared to our f1 style dash. the z06 materials were cheap like a rental car, but button placement made more sense and it was slightly easier to use. but i gotta say again, the interior lights of the ferrari were horrible.

the car that FELT the fastest was the z06. i got in the f430 spyder afterwards and felt that it was slow in comparison. however, the f1 noise that the ferrari makes, makes it feel like it's going faster than it is. the z06 acceleration is violent and torquey while the f430 is very similar to our s2000 as the power builds. the lambo felt fast too, but not as interesting. the other cars were uneventfully fast, if u know what i mean.

we drove on roads outside of palm springs.

imo, the f430 is very much like a cracked up version of the s2000. from the engine to the suspension to the steering, they feel very similar. the shifter and clutch action make the fun difference, though. the problem for me lies in that the ferrari isn't much fun until you get it up in speed while the s2000 is fun at much lower speeds. the f430 is the greater race car, but the S is a greater real everyday car, imo.

must mention again, blind spots galore which is serious business while risking 200,000 bucks.