Stopped by Porsche of Princeton in NJ recently. I saw this GT2 RS in the window a few days earlier and I had to get a few pics. The ultimate 911 in the best color. Absolutely unreal on its own, but they actually have 3 GT2 RSs on the showroom floor right now.
Continue reading Porsche GT2 RS in Miami Blue at Porsche of Princeton
Driving a Ferrari 612 on such a tight track was an eye-opening experience for me. This is a big V12 GT car meant for the open road, how on Earth did Ferrari make it handle so light and nimbly on a small track with some areas only a little bigger than an autocross? And how did the car give me so much confidence after just getting to know it that I was comfortable taking the chicane that splits up the main straight flat, reaching 200kph (124mph) on the back straight before diving into the hairpin?
Looking at this track, you wouldn’t think that sort of speed would be possible from a big car like this. The 612 should have been totally out of its element here, but it was so willing the change direction, and so nicely balanced, that it actually felt right at home. I was enthralled by Ferrari when I first drove the 430 Scuderia on track, but this 612 sold me for good on their ability to make any car drive as it should. Just as the Scuderia did, the 612 seemed to connect right to my brain stem, and driving it felt more telepathic than artificial. The fact that they could do that with a big 2 ton GT car is unbelievable. Most big GTs I’ve driven don’t really get past being merely competent in tight corners, but this 612 was genuinely playful. I remain blown away by it. And that V12!! 🎶🎶🎶
-Nick
The BMW i8 is today a lot like the DeLorean was in the early 80s.
While not nearly the political phenomenon the DeLorean was, in the market it occupies the exact same slot: a spaceship-looking car with epic doors that doesn’t perform nearly as good as it looks. In fact, the ratio of the i8’s power compared to the Ferrari 488’s is nearly identical to that of the DeLorean compared to a Ferrari 308.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually really love the i8 for what it is, and I enjoyed cruising around in the sapphire blue one you see above. But the i8’s party piece is its appearance rather than its performance. It’s only about as fast as a stage 2 Subaru, but it will turn as many heads in town as a Koenigsegg, especially in an insane color like this. We actually had a guy push his stroller into a curb because he was so fixated on our i8 just sitting at a red light.
The i8 is really is a concept car you can buy, but it’s more for casual drivers than enthusiasts in terms of the driving experience it offers. Also just like the DeLorean ⛄️
-Nick
The Philly Auto Show was great this year. We got to see some of the hottest new industry offerings, and the CF Charities hypercar exhibit was better than ever this year. It’s always a bright spot for us Northeastern car folks in the dead of Winter. Enjoy!
Continue reading Highlights from the 2019 Philadelphia Auto Show
This was my first drive in a Ferrari, a 430 Scuderia. Right after my drive in the Lambo, I hopped into this Scud, the stripped-out track-focused version of the F430.
I was used to driving sports cars, my STI and my dad’s 911, and I had just driven the Gallardo, but I cannot emphasize enough how much sharper this Ferrari felt than the lot of them. It didn’t feel like a machine I was operating, but more like it connected right to my brain stem and became a part of me out on the track. I’d had my warm up in the Lambo, and with the deeper connection in the Ferrari, I really started to get in my groove.
I listened to the instructor and I wound up being able to enter corners at speeds I hadn’t thought possible. By the end, I was reaching around 125 on the main straight and entering the next corner at 90, where before I had only thought 60 or 70 was possible. It was an unbelievable rush, and the car gave me the confidence to really focus on learning.
Most Ferraris offer an amazing experience, but on track, a 430 Scuderia is more amazing than most of them. It was one hell of a hands-on introduction to the prancing horse.
Continue reading A New Definition of “Sharp”: Driving My First Ferrari
This was the moment the dream was first realized. I was finally driving my first bonafide supercar! It was this bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, and I drove it on track at Exotics Racing in Las Vegas. This was also my first time on a proper race track too, so I had everything to learn.
I remember pulling out on the track. I just floored it in 1st and it broke all 4 tires loose, then chirped them again into 2nd. The ferocity of the acceleration and the roar of that V10 were unlike anything I could have imagined. Before that, I had only driven a few cars around 400hp, so this was by far the fastest car I’d experienced.
Being such a novice I did my best in the corners, TC saved me big time once, but I made full use of the short straight on all of my laps, clocking around 115 or so by the time I had to brake.
In hindsight, I was so sloppy, but I had a blast realizing my childhood dream of driving a supercar for the first time. A screaming Lamborghini is a great first experience to have.
-Nick
We all have our firsts, and this was the first exotic car I ever drove, an ’02 Maserati Spyder like the one you see here (only a lot rougher around the edges).
I basically just bullshitted my way into a test drive at a used car lot down the shore. In true Italian style, the convertible top wouldn’t go down, but otherwise, it was in decent shape.
This was also my first experience with a proper paddle shift transmission. I found it shifted nicely at speed, but it was utter dog shit in traffic. I proceeded, enjoying the lovely Italian V8 engine, and I almost chirped the tires in front of a cop.
It was a fun test drive in a car which at the time was quite special in the eyes of 20 year old me…. if I only knew what was to come 😂👍
-Nick
Inspired by the Le Mans decimating Ford GT40 of the 1960s, the Ford GT is a unique American supercar that has taken on the Europeans for two generations now. The older Gord GT from the mid-2000s is among the pinnacle analog supercars that will ever be made. The new Ford GT takes modern supercar design and technology to the next level, a truly unique offering on supercar menu of 2018-19.
Someone brought both GTs to the Scarsdale Concours this year and it was quite a sight to see them together. I got to sit in the new GT, and my God does it feel like the cockpit of a spaceship inside. Such a special machine.
Enjoy the gallery!
Not a bad spot at all for a lunch break in early December. The F12 is one of my favorite modern Ferraris, especially in this spec. Absolutely pristine!
-Nick
This World Record Edition Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, one of just 5 in existence, surprised everyone when it showed up at Cars and Caffe. This is the second one of these WRE Veyrons I’ve seen in person, here’s the first, so I’ve laid eyes on 40% of them.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Bugatti Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition at Cars and Caffe
I’ve been seeing a few SLRs around this year, and it still has a great amount of “pop” on the road. Once a hypercar, always a hypercar.
-Nick
Mind Over Motor 