Back in December I was in Las Vegas and I enjoyed the experience of driving a Ferrari 430 Scuderia and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560 on the infield road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I took the Ferrari for 10 laps, and the Lambo for 5 laps. (BTW, the Scuderia made that Lamborghini feel like driving a truck in comparison)
Some people thought I lost my mind paying so much money for such an experience. Mind you, I didn’t drive for a full hour but maybe only 10 minutes. So my total cost was about $900, but it works out to about $5,400 per hour.
Now, you could rent such cars for over $1,000 for 24 hours to use in and around the city. But what fun is driving an exotic at 60 km/h or perhaps 120 km/h on the highway? In a straight line. Probably no fun if you ask me. But taking an exotic to redline in four gears, threshold braking and getting the car sideways while trailbraking into a corner… now THAT’S fun. And legal on a racetrack. You can’t come anywhere near a car’s limit on the street without being an idiot.
Also, keep in mind that I’m a gearhead. I like cars and it’s a passion. Like I always say, if you have your budget in order, the infrequent expensive indulgence is nothing to be worried about. So there! :)
HI Preet,
I loved watching the video of you doing this and I have to say I have put this on my bucket list!
I think that life is about having experiences and doing what you love. As you say if you have your budget in order then you know you can spend the money on the things that are important to you! The new year is a great time to set new goals but also to prioritize those goals as well. What is more important driving a Ferrari at mach one around a race track or buying your lunch out everyday!!! Check out my post on setting goals and achieving them!http://info.frankwiginton.com/blog/bid/34897/New-Year-New-Beginning-Setting-Goals-and-Achieving-Them
I have always encouraged people to live their life now and plan for the future. So if it means you have to work an extra five years but you get to experience your life now, it is a small price to pay for a better quality of life!
Las Vegas here I come!
Thanks Frank – agreed. Sometimes I see some people who expect quality of life to get better in retirement, but sacrificing a bit too much today. Who even knows if you’ll be able to enjoy what you think you’ll enjoy doing later on?
Good job Preet. I must have missed the video. Happiness experts claim we get more of a long-term boost from buying experiences than from buying material goods, so you’ve intuitively chosen a wise path. Good for you.
Interesting – seems to make sense to me too. I could (theoretically speaking) buy a Ferrari and worry about it getting scratched, stolen, into an accident and enjoy it’s full potential almost never, or I could buy the experience I want it for, for a fraction of the cost.
Absolutely agree.
Ever heard of Eaglerider.com? Might seem expensive to some folks, but with their rentals they let me cross off one item from my riding list as well.
I’m still jealous of Preet however.
I’ll keep eaglerider in mind. I’m getting my motorcycle license this year, and maybe my first bike too. I’d like to do the FAST school in Shannonville next summer if I can get enough practice in to be proficient, which I don’t think will be a problem… http://www.fastridingschool.com/index3.html
Sounds awesome to me Preet! Good on you man, you only live once.
Cheers,
Mark
Fully understand you.
The title of the post is however misleading as I was expecting you to have driven 1 hour ad spent $5,400.
That sounds like a great time, although dang that’s a lot of money. There was a Groupon awhile back to drive some Corvettes over at Mosport for a decent price though. Saving that up for a hot day in July. Can’t wait.
I am very jealous. I got to drive a formula one car about 6 years ago at a racing school (just for fun) i attended. But i’ve always wanted to take a Lamborghini out.