Reply With QuoteHot hatch > Supercar
In my experience they are less precious about them.
No local knowledge however.
Our son will be 21 in September and we are looking at buying him a driving experience for his birthday. He loves cars and I know he would enjoy having a blast on a track.
Can anyone recommend a suitable circuit and experience which would give him a taste of supercars (Ferrari, Lambo, Aston, etc) and possibly with a hot hatch thrown in? He would also like to experience rally driving but it looks like we may struggle to combine these.
We we live in Somerset so we probably need to travel to find the right thing. Google throws up a bewildering list of options but I was hoping for some real life experience and insight including which ones gives the most driving time etc. Budget around £300.
Anyone done something similar?
Thanks
Simon
Hot hatch > Supercar
In my experience they are less precious about them.
No local knowledge however.
Bought my 21 y.o. son an F4 'driving experience' at Brands Hatch. Think it was ~£250.
They 'learn' the circuit in an M4 beforehand and he was more impressed and enjoyed that more - was amazed how it stuck to the track on the corners (claimed he lapped everyone else) whereas the F4 more like a go-kart.
Did consider supercars but as Ally said they are quite precious about them and do very few laps.
http://www.msvdrivinggifts.com/f4-master.aspx
I don’t recall the price but palmersport is supposed to be as good as it gets for track driving.
Originally Posted by Stuno1
Palmer is the best, but it will blow his £300 budget (I think my last day was about £950), but so worth it.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I’ve had a few very entertaining days at Thruxton; highly re ommended
It's just a matter of time...
Palmersport run days at Bedford Autodrome which has wide run off areas right round it rather than the barriers found on circuits that host races. So an error may have less serious consequences.
They're a great team and a range of options as to what you drive, but it's not cheap.
Thanks chaps. I suspected there would be good experience on tz and you’ve given me a couple things to look at.
Another vote for Thruxton here. They really let you go for it, the instructors are there to teach you how to drive smoothly and quickly. I drove a Cayman, a V8 Vantage and a single seater, thoroughly good day out
Chris
if he's set on supercars then a track day will be great, but the ones within your budget may give very limited driving time
if he likes cars generally then maybe consider a 4x4 day. Probably not convenient location wise but I have done a day with this company http://kankku.co.uk/index.html and it was superb.
am sure you could find similar in your area. for £250 I have a full day behind the wheel and learnt a lot
and another- the karting is also good fun if a few of you.
Castle Combe do these days Simon, and not to far up the road.
I've done a day on the skid pan at Castle Coombe which was fun, think I'd prefer a track day though.
As above, Palmer expensive but well worth it.Palmer is the best, but it will blow his £300 budget (I think my last day was about £950), but so worth it.
Good wood have an experience in their m cars for £350 that looks pretty awesome
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We are homing in on a multi car experience at Thruxton on the basis of car preference and location. Hoping to go in September and I will post an update.
Thanks again.
If you wanted to go for the rally driving side of things, I have heard very good reports about this place:
http://www.philprice.co.uk/
One of the main benefits is it is a much longer experience than a lot of the track based stuff, so includes training etc as well as a blast with one of the instructors driving at the end to show you 'how it should be done'.
I have done the 'Evolution of 911' day at Porsche UK Silverstone, which was great, but their driving days may be a bit too 'polished' or a 21st birthday present as it is primarily aimed at new Porsche owners, whereas I suspect you may be looking for more of a 'fun' blast around a track.
Last edited by Maysie; 21st August 2018 at 12:14.
Just booked a McLaren 570s plus Porsche Cayman plus Formula Renault experience for him at Thruxton.
I'm excited for him! I will report back on how it goes.
Cheers - Simon
Sounds great Simon and I’m sure he will chuffed to bits.
Have you not missed something, surely you booked for yourself also, so you can enjoy the experience together.
Personally I think you either go expensive or stay cheap.
The sub £100 supercar days are as much fun as the £500 circuit experiences, imo.
Everyone I know who's done a Palmersport day has loved it, but if you can't afford that get him 3 supercars and an Atom passenger ride on a groupon sale for under £100.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
It did cross my mind Ben but it’s his treat and I will be happy to watch him. Besides, I will be driving there and back in a 911 so I’m not complaining. I may still be tempted if there is something available on the day though......
Good choice, something with a single seater is well worth it, that really is an experience, compared with road cars, the first time you drive one.
They do on the spot experiences for guests as well. You might want to consider a drift passenger lap with Tiff Needell - his car control is sublime
Chris
See OP you have already sorted this but if you ever want to book another I’ll add a vote to the Palmersport list!
I did a track day experience once, I drove a Ferrari 348, Porsche 911, Mitsubishi Evo (10?), and a Subaru Impreza... to be honest, it was a little frustrating due to the co-instructors, especially in the Ferrari, - the car was limited, the instructor insisted that I change up at about 3K rpm, plus the Ferrari was the first car I drove, so spent my time learning the track rather than enjoying the car. I wouldn't do it again, I'd prefer to just hire a Ferrari and drive it on public roads... - you get a better sense of speed on normal roads also, as opposed to a very wide track..
I have done a rally car experience also, which was much more fun, drifting etc
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