The Only Question that Matters– Ferrari or Lamborghini?

“Are you more into Ferraris or Lamborghinis?” That was the question waiting in my inbox a few weeks ago. It was an email from Exotics Racing, asking which of their four-wheeled fantasies I’d like to sample and it had the desired effect. If you don’t know what Exotics Racing is, and you should by now, they rent the cars that we all dream about for you to drive as fast you can possibly go on a closed track. After remembering my last name wasn’t Bond, I thought, “Automotive candy store! Nom nom nom!” This final dream would be a perfect way to cap off the whimsical automotive world that is SEMA.

SEMA effectively ended on Thursday night and I made a conscious decision to take it easy that night because I wanted to be fresh for my drive. When I reached the track on Friday morning, nearly bursting with excitement, I couldn’t wait to strap on the Ferrari 458. I had driven one once before and it is without question the greatest car I’ve ever driven before or since. The car communicates almost telepathically and you can put it exactly where you want on the track. It has no bad tendencies and makes you feel like the tifosi’s patron saint, Michael Schumacher.

Unfortunately, while I was fresh and eager to go, SEMA had taken its toll on the 458s. Apparently, so many people had driven the Ferraris that week that, they were all temporarily out-of-commission due to abuse inflicted by folks such as yours truly. Exotics Racing was quick to point out that they did still have a stable full of other exotics and that they’d increase the number of laps to apologize for the shortcoming.

I was disappointed as I love the 458 in an unholy way (it’s just that good). But I still wanted to get on the track and this was a great opportunity to sample a car I’m unfamiliar with on-track without worrying about traffic. Game on—I picked the Lamborghini Gallardo LP550. Il toro rampante!

Following the quick safety and track lectures and after a pair of discovery laps in a Porsche Cayenne (holy cow that thing is fast!) my name was called and I met Aaron, my driving instructor waiting next to a silver Gallardo. He briefed me on some of the controls, I adjusted the seat to ensure I could modulate the brake pedal effectively and pressed the reverse button when I was clear (the Gallardo has column-mounted paddles and a single button marked “R” to the left of the steering column on the dash).

The track is a 1.2 mile road course with an 1800 foot straight and is essentially in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway parking lot. Having let a Mercedes SLS and Nissan GTR go by, the Gallardo roared onto the track. I clicked the paddle and boom! second gear. We were rapidly approaching the first corner but I managed to upshift to third just before I began braking and downshifting. Exiting the corner, Aaron corrected my downshift to first gear, noting “it’s not necessary.” The Lamborghini does pull from second or third with no problem, but I wanted to be in as low a gear as possible. Aaron is probably instructed to keep students in second and third in order to maximize the clutch and gearbox’s life, however.

Navigating the track is easy enough as Exotics sets up cones indicating braking points, turn-in points, apexes and exit points. What isn’t easy is jumping into a strange car on a new track with an instructor you don’t know. The learning curve to “perfection” is steep particularly in light of how quickly the laps fly by. But this isn’t really about perfection. It’s about driving your dream car (or cars) on a track without the hassles encountered on public roads.

I’d love to tell you that I set a new lap record, but in all honesty my first lap could have been measured on a calendar. On a positive note, each of my successive laps was quicker than the one before, thank you Aaron. But I know that given a few more laps I still could’ve dropped a couple more seconds. It’s not about perfection though, right? Oh and for what it’s worth my terminal speed was about 120 mph, something else you can’t do on public roads (at least not without worrying about jail).

The guys at Exotics Racing were more than accommodating and if not for the Ferraris being broken, it would’ve been a perfect morning. But we’ve already begun discussing a 458 versus McLaren 12C head-to-head at their new Autoclub Speedway location in Southern California. Let’s make it happen Exotics Racing…