07.29
A couple weekends ago I had the opportunity to have some seat time in a Ferrari F430. The event was a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Foundation and People’s City Mission. The cars were provided by World Class Driving. Five cars were available to pick from:
- Audi R8 V10
- Bentley Continental Supersports
- Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
- Ferrari F430
- Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
The choice was easy for me: Ferrari F430. Originally when I signed up The Audi R8 wasn’t available and the option was a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. That interested me about as much as the Bentley Continental. The Audi R8 would have been my second choice, but it was still a clear choice with the Ferrari F430. I’ve loved Ferrari since finding a love of cars, which was right after I came out of the womb. They make cars that remove as much as possible between the driver and the experience of driving.
The driving course was mostly rural around Independence, Missouri. The distance was approximately 17 miles total and lasted about 25 minutes. Prep and education was minimal. I had already handed over all of my most intimate information and signed away my life so I guess they had what they needed. I was given a quick overview of the controls and that was it. I was already familiar with how the “F1″ transmission worked: right paddle for upshifting, left paddle for downshifting, both paddles for neutral. I was also advised to not downshift into first gear: simply put it into neutral and coast/brake to a stop. They reengage first gear. Hard on the transmission. Fair enough. The one new thing I did learn, but I believe would have been instinctive once out on the road, was to not move your right foot during an upshift. Simply keep it planted and let the electronics work their magic.
I had originally planned to record my experience in 720P using a Joby Gorillapod SLR. I bought it and had it and my Kodak Z812 IS Zoom there with me but ultimately decided against it for 2 reasons. 1) There was no where to mount the Gorillapod. The other cars had holes in their headrests which would have worked perfectly. The only plausible spots in the F430 where the rear-view mirror and the door handle. Neither worthwhile choice. 2) Sitting down in the F430 made me realize it was time to focus on the task at hand. This is a high-performance piece of automotive hardware I was piloting and I should have my full concentration on the task at hand.
Ignition: crank, crank, WWOOOOAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR….. My that was lovely. I actually considered turning the car off and starting it up again.
The View From the Cockpit, Right Before Takeoff
So we’re given the signal it’s time to go. The pace car is a Nissan Altima (crazy, eh?). Behind the pace car and ahead of me is the Gallardo. The Gallardo pulls out of the hotel parking lot onto the four lane and stops a hundred feet down. I have the F1 transmission in 1st gear. I pull up to the stop sign to turn left and wait for a hole in traffic. I gingerly apply the accelerator and pull out. There’s a *small* hesitation with pick up which I attribute to gently applying the accelerator. I hear some chatter over the CBs (our method of communication amongst the group) and I believe the woman in the Gallardo is waiting for her husband (in the 599 GTB). I go around and pick up behind the pace car. As we’re still on city streets, we’re taking it easy and we pull up to the light at the next intersection to wait for the convoy to catch up. This will be a common practice, but not to the point of hindrance to the enjoyment of the drive. Eventually everyone gets there and we turn right, slightly uphill before hitting the top and then down toward another intersection in the valley. The good news is beyond the intersection is a railroad crossing and a lot more green real estate. Light, VERY gingerly over the track to the tune of 20 MPH, and then fun time. All the while keep in mind I’m enjoying the sounds coming from the V8 and just getting a feel for the car.
We’re finally on somewhat open roads (i.e. more rural than city) and the pace car starts kicking it in the pants. Keeping in mind I’m solely responsible for abiding by laws which the pace car clearly isn’t, I remind myself I’m driving a Ferrari F430 and decide to step it up.
2ND -> accelerator down to ~50% -> WWWOOOOOOAAAARRRRRR -> 7500 RPM -> right paddle while keeping accelerator steady -> blip and shift to 3RD -> WWWWWOOOOOORRRR
Hmmm. Yeah, I like this car.
So at this point I’m going to be a lot less detailed in my description of the drive. Inevitably that’s what happens. I stopped analyzing and started enjoying. In general, the roads we took were very rural. Lots of corners and hill crests. And plenty of blind corners and blind hill crests! Essentially I pushed the F430 as fast as I felt comfortable. It was mostly a 2nd and 3rd gear affair keeping the revs between 4000 RPM and redline at 8500 RPM. While I was enjoying the car as a whole, most of my time was spent taking in that symphony of an exhaust note and the engine sounds. Needless to say it never even occurred to me to touch the radio. The engine is all the music you’d ever need in the car.
Back to the drive a bit. The blind corners and blind hill crests were a bit uncomfortable to take and that’s why there was a pace car. Two cases in point.
1) On one back road that was paved with asphalt but could have just as well as been gravel given the remoteness, the following came over the CB from the pace car: “COWS ON THE ROAD! COWS ON THE ROAD! REPEAT. THERE ARE COWS ON THE ROAD!” Hard, controlled pressure applied to the brakes as I reached the base of a short drop in the road. Down to 20 MPH. Crest hill. Sure enough, the Altima was stopped waiting for cows to turn around from the roadway and back into the farm.
2) A mile later. Cresting a hill and hitting a medium-sized valley. From the CB: “ATTENTION. GEESE CROSSING THE ROAD. GEESE CROSSING THE ROAD!” Again, sure enough, at the bottom of the valley, the Altima was stopping to wait for a gaggle of geese to get off the roadway!
As I said, those were a bit uncomfortable not in and of themselves but for what might be around a blind corner or over a blind hill crest.
The few straights we hit the pace car pushed it to get out in front as far as possible. I tended to trail back, with the car in second, and punching the accelerator. Not full throttle but maybe 70% to 80%. Very nice performance. It didn’t take my breath away because I’m used to performance at that level. The 2001 M5 I own is not as fast (essentially a second slower in the quarter miles at 13.3 versus 12.3) but it’s comparable enough such that the F430 wasn’t jaw dropping. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with most of my concentration on the glorious sounds from the exhaust. I’ve mentioned that before haven’t I?
- 2ND -> hit the throttle -> WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRR -> 8500 RPM -> throttle steady -> right paddle -> BAM, perfect upshift, let’s go again
- 3RD -> let RPMS fall to 4500 RPM -> left paddle -> computer matches revs perfectly and drop into 2ND at ~ 7000 RPM (just a guess, can’t recall exactly) -> WWWWEEEEEEAAAAORRRR -> heaven is the sound coming from behind my ears
- Go back to #1 and repeat
Me Immediately After the Drive
After we were done, I talked with the other driver’s a bit. I explained the beautiful sounds of the engine and exhaust and how I enjoyed simply pushing the engine between 2nd and 3rd to hear it. The woman driving the Gallardo commented the exhaust note from the F430 was the only thing she ever heard. Heh. Keep in mind she was at least 2 cars behind me and IN A GALLARDO.
Yeah, you could say I enjoyed myself.
