Way to much car for 99.9% of under 20 drivers. It is a supercar for an experienced driver.

 

I myself is 19 years old and see myself as a pretty responsible person. I drove my fathers old 360 spider sometimes but he knows I wouldn't drive with the dick, even though he knows I would put the pedal to the metal on a broad and nice highway so I can learn how the car is reacting, but not on some new roads I've never been on.

But letting a 16-year old kid behind the wheel in a 997TT sounds crazy in my ears. Alright, he might know how to drive but... One misstake and the kid is gone. You can always buy a new car but never replace a 16-year old kid. So no, I wouldn't let my kids drive a car like 997TT.

 

No way am I letting my kids drive either my sl55 or 997TT. I didn't let them drive my M6 either. My eldest is 18 and she has her own car. But this is just too much power to put into her hands. I couldn't live with myself if anything ever happened and I was the one that let her have the loaded 500+hp gun.

In case your wondering have a look at this thread from the M5/M6 board and now tell me if your still game to let your kids take it for a ride. AmericanM5 was sure that he was a careful driver as well.

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/sho...ght=americanm5

Very sobering. Letting our kids drive it on a track with proper instruction is fine by me, but letting them out on the street with friends+ego+who knows what else, can be lethal; not only to your kid.

One tiny error in judgement from a lack of experience can change everything. It's not worth it. Besides let them earn it like I had to.

 

In my honest opinion it is not a good idea to let your son drive the car alone. I had written out a long reply as to why but I just deleted it all and decided to leave it at that.

 

As early as 15 years old I would sneak my parents cars out when they would go day trips. I would pick up my buddies, cruise around and do burnouts. I can't imagine having a 500HP Turbo to take out! Good thing I didn't or I may not be typing this right now. I was a good kid too.

 

Well, I didn't have the time to read through all the posts, but I'll add my two cents anyway. As responsible and good intentioned as most young drivers are, as parents I don't feel it would be responsible of us to allow any of them to drive a car this powerful or expensive. Even for those kids who can resist the temptations of these cars, or those who have had track or autocross training, they lack the understanding of consequences and experience. Should an unfortunate event happen, the parent will partly be to blame. The consequences will be for the entire family to burden, whether that be in a courtroom, insurance problems or cancellation, or worst of all if your son or daughter were to be injured, mamed or killed. I would never be able to forgive myself if I handed my son a weapon this powerful. It's just not worth it just so they can be "cool" or so we can be the cool parents. There are just too many stories to support this. Traffic accidents is the number one killer of kids under the age of 20. Statistics don't lie.

 

Cclarke, show your son how much you love him ... just say no.


If he's as level headed as you hope, he will understand when you explain it.

 

this has been great info everyone i am really going to reconsider letting my son drive the car unless its on a track or a drag by himself. I hope everything worked out fine with that kid in flordia that crashed his m5. I didnt read the whole thread on it but i hope it wasn't him who died.

Thanks

 

He did die, along with I think 3 friends

 

Don't forget when you are on the track, no insurance. I had a friend who was in a crash and not only does her vehicle not get covered, but her medical insurer won't cover track injuries so she ate it all. Big risks for a parent.

 

Just Say No

 

Hey guys this is my first post but I thought I could give some insight on this issue. I am 17 years old and I wrote my high school senior thesis on why teenagers are bad drivers. Our brains are not fully developed and thus we cannot make the right decisions in the heat of the moment. For the average teenager, this would be way too much car to handle. Unless the teen has had a lot of experience with cars having similar power to weight ratios, it would not be a good idea. The risk of losing your child is far too great compared to the benefit of allowing your child to have a great time. I drive an Audi A4 2.0T, and can only dream about what it is like to drive a close to 500 hp beast.

 

Good points. And welcome to the 6!

 

first time i got to drive my dads porsche was about a month ago....and im 18 now, ive driven the car a billion of times with him but he never wanted to give me the keys to it alone, not because im reckless/irresponsible (ive been driving since i was 8 with my grandpa) but he has the mentality that he worked hard for it and doesnt want anyhting to happen to it-rightfully so (yes he is the type that parks in africa when going to any public place).ive driven a handful of nice cars like aston martin, bentley, W12 audi, maserati's so its not like ive never driven a nice car. i was really excited to drive it alone to push it a little, i hit maximum 80 in a straight. then a ducati came up to me and tired to race me....believe me my will power was strong that day, i just ignored the guy....i knew i didnt know the limits of the car because i drive civilized with my dad so i knew that would be dumb. but if i were to drive the car a lot by myself, then i can see myself getting cocky but not to a completely crazy extent. just follow your kid candidly next time he drives to see how he's doing and is not getting cocky- cars can be replaced....16 year olds cant

 

Another data point: Hulk Hogan's son (17) driving his dad's 1000HP Supra, almost killed himself and put his passenger in a persistence vegetative state.