Well around noon today I knocked off work to head down to Eagan to try my hand at driving some nice cars. I hopped in my old trusty TDI and put down a respectable 59mpg on the way down to the AutoVault facility. I pulled into the parking and without shame parked right next to the new M6.
After signing my life away and paying an extra fee for a liability waiver (protecting me from having to pay out of pocket for bent rims, etc) we were brought out to the cars for a debriefing on what we would need to know to drive them. Each had their quirks but most were intuitive. It was interesting (but also very important) how it was determined which order we were to drive the cars that day. As it turns out it was done in the order of our arrival at the facility that day. Since I showed up last I drew driver #5 card which had a predetermined order of cars...starting out with the Huracan.
2016 Lamborghini Huracan Spyder
https://youtu.be/FL6pJEwjGWw
5.2L v10 602hp @ 8250, 412 ftlb @ 6500
7spd dual clutch, AWD. 3400lb curb weight.
MSRP $300,270
0-62: 3.4s
To start out with this is not a car for anyone over 6ft tall. I fit in the car just fine but only just as I my sightline was peering below the top frame of the windshield. I had the seat all the way back and all the way reclined and that was the best I could do. Put the car in Sport mode and fire her up and she lets everyone know you're there. The exhaust is fantastically loud letting out a v10 shriek. It rode surprisingly well and the transmission is something to behold with its lightning-quick shifts with a touch to the large machined aluminum paddle shifters. I can't express this enough....this car is fast. We hopped onto an on ramp and by the time I'm on 35E I'm hitting 100. I slow down to pace with the rest of the group and settle in. At the overpass in Burnsville where 35e and 35w merge I blip it down to 3rd gear to get the revs around 6k and floor it. Before I know what I'm doing I'm into triple digits again. Fun. But not nearly as fun as the next car on my list that I hop into at the Brunswick bowl in Lakeville...The McLaren 650s.
2015 McLaren 650s Spider
https://youtu.be/EvsG0zXnLN4
3.8L v8, twin turbo 641hp @ 7250, 500 ftlb @ 6000
7spd dual clutch, RWD. 3236lb curb weight
MSRP $330,000
0-62: 3s
Getting into this car you know you're in for something special when you see the bare side of the carbon fiber tub. Surprisingly it is rather easy to get in and out of with very good ergonomics and everything where you would expect them to be. Looking at the specs you would expect this and the Huracan would seem close but this feels so much faster. Maybe it's the rush of the torque as the turbos come on line or maybe its the lighter curb weight. Whatever it is, it makes this car scary fast. And I mean that. This was the only car today that scared me in how fast it was. We hopped back on I35 and keep heading south. Yes, the clover leaf at 46 is as much fun as you might imagine in this car and by the time I'm at the end of the ramp...you get the idea. We get to the back roads of SW Lakeville / New Market area and we get to tour the farm land in this amazing cars. Kick it down a few gears and mash the go pedal and you've caught up to the car in front of you in a hurry. Jamb on the brakes and see the large active spoiler behind you go vertical to help with the deceleration. Yeah, this was my favorite car out of the bunch. Sadly it was followed by my least favorite...the BMW i8.
BMW i8
https://youtu.be/Dqr_R9QTRYw
1.5L i3, turbo. 362hp ? ftlb
AWD wizardry, 3300lb curb weight
MSRP $130,000
0-60: 4.4s
The first thing I was most surprised about this
BMW is how difficult it was to get into. Due to high sill and the forward seating position you have to basically lay down on the door sill and then scooch your butt forward and inward until you are in the car. I thought the Huracan would hold the honor of being the one to make you look silly getting into and out of but nope, it was the beemer. The driving dynamics of the car were impressive and it had plenty of spunk (all relative considering I had just driven a McLaren) but the big detractor is the fact that it is trying to
simulate the sort of experience you get naturally in the other cars. And I mean that literally. It pipes through the speakers the sounds one might expect from a rumbling v8 and then a sort of wind down sound you would expect from a jet engine as you are decelerating. I was like driving a video game. It perfectly set me up for my next drive which was the exact opposite of fakery....the GT4.
Porsche Cayman GT4
https://youtu.be/0BFKU1Fj0j4
3.8L flat 6. 385hp @ 7800, 310ftlb @ 4750
6 speed MANUAL, RWD. 2955 curb weight
MSRP $95,000
0-60: 4.2s
I have to admit I was most excited about this car. Not because it is something in this group that I could eventually afford (you know...in 10 years or something
) but mainly because it seemed like the most raw form of automobile in the group. Flip it into sport mode and push the sport exhaust button and you're ready to roll. The exhaust is a nice rumble below 5000rpm but things really start to wake up and it turns into a wail from 6000 to redline...and that's where this thing likes to be driven. I'd be driving along at 60mph and I'd drop it into 2nd, the engine rev matching for me, and put the go pedal to the floor. You're done with that gear in a hurry and with a flick of the wrist you are able to hit second gear thanks to the amazing shifter. I've honestly never shifted a nicer manual transmission.
As I stated before the luck of the driving order was on my side. You wouldn't think this would be the case out in this area but thankfully the state decided to drop roundabouts at a bunch of the intersections. Wanting to turn left at the roundabout (9 o'clock) I'd enter in 2nd going about 35, get about to the 3 o'clock position and then squeeze the throttle to the floor. By the time I'm at 12 o'clock I can feel the torque vectoring straightening me out and bam, I'm hitting 60mph before I've cleared the roundabout. Damn good fun. Well our day of fun is almost over and now it's my turn in the Bentley.
Bentley Continental GT
https://youtu.be/9k7rF43ksQk
4L v8, twin turbo. 521hp @ 6000, 502ftlb @ 1700!!
8spd auto, AWD.
5200 curb weight
MSRP $235,000
0-60: 3.9s
This one seemed like the tamest of the group by a long margin. I found myself very fortunate to have this one last for the cruise up the freeway back to the garage...mainly so I didn't waste the GT4 or McLaren on a long freeway drive. Turn the seat coolers and massage on and sit back and enjoy the gorgeous interior. It is definitely quick but you can tell it is struggling to get its mass moving in any direction. Whereas the paddle shifters in the Huracan expressed extreme quality the ones in the Bentley were weird little dollops of plastic on the ends of plastic rods extending out to two distinct points behind the steering wheel...the left one exactly where you want the turn signal to be. A silly little touch of British engineering: when you get into the car and close the door there is a mechanism that extends the seatbelt out to your shoulder so it is easier to grab. Once you've latched the belt the mechanism retracts back into the B post. I wonder how much that little doodad added in terms of engineering hours, cost and weight? Also right in line with British engineering: the active motor mounts seemed to be rattling and the trunk wasn't closing properly at the hinge and the car only had 6000 miles on it.
I would recommend even this short session to anyone. It was an amazing experience and probably something I'll do again when they add a Ferrari 458 (per the owner/operator).
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https://goo.gl/photos/xbLdrLjoVM4PBbDK7
http://autovaultmn.com/fantasy-drives
