My wife got me an early birthday gift -- 5 laps around a short road course at Thompson Speedway in CT, in either a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Ferrari 360 Modena with Circult One. Of course I grabbed the Lambo.

Believe it or not, it gave me a whole new appreciation for my MINI's! I've had two MCS's and now a Paceman. The first thing I noticed when I took off on my first lap in the Lambo is how much more precise the steering and braking feel in the MINI -- even the Paceman. Now granted there is just no comparison to a barely muffled V-10 winding out to what seems like infinite RPM right behind your head, and no doubt most of these exotics will stick at much higher speeds through the twisties -- or so the theory goes. But for actual responsiveness of steering and braking and overall tactile feedback, I was not all that unhappy to jump back in my Paceman for the drive home. Which doesn't mean I was not blown away by the experience -- I was just expecting more of a go-kart feel and was somewhat surprised when it wasn't there.

All that being said, visually the Gallardo might be a beautiful bit of automotive design, but make no mistake -- under that sleek bodywork breaths an absolute beast of a machine that just begs to be unleashed. Throttle responds to the slightest twitch of your foot -- and believe me, my foot was a-twitchin' from the first time I punched it. As much as we love our MINI's, if you ever get a chance to take one of these machines for a few laps, I highly recommend it.

 

I've heard that about several Lambos--"It drives like a truck. A truck that can go 200 MPH!"

Sounds like an awesome time!

 

I would have taken the Ferarri. In fact I did take the Ferrari when I had the chance around Silverstone. That didn't drive like a truck.

I'm not surprised about the Lambos, they did start off making trucks and tractors. My brother owns a Lambo, a tractor as part of his collection of farm vehicles (alongs side his collection of military vehicles).

 

Next time will definitely do the Ferrari. But you know, first time out there, I just had to go with my boyhood dream car (as did about 90% of the other patrons!).

Now, what I'd really give for a crack at a Lotus Elise...

 

I had the chance to run an Elise around Laguna Seca when I did a Skip Barber course. I couldn't actually fit in it, which was disappointing. I later has a chance to try the Lotus for larger Americans (the Evora), that was pretty nice.