by Mark Flanighan
Driving a Ferrari has always been a dream of mine.
I am unfortunate that I remember Danny Wild driving his red Ferrari
around Europe in the Persuaders on TV back in the early 70s. But then
when you do get to drive one, you realise that they are only designed to
be driven one way, and that is fast.
But of course with speed limit, kids, other
drivers on the road you will find that only a very small time can be
dedicate to driving a Ferrari as it should be. In fact much of the
driving you would do is totally unsuitable for a Ferrari. OK I will be
honest with you, I don't own a Ferrari but I have driven one. I hired a
car and drove it around a racetrack as it was designed to do, which a
qualified instructor of course. This has totally changed my perception
of why people must own a Ferrari.
I cannot now see any reason to own one at all,
except as a status symbol. Nothing comes close to driving this super car
around at 150mph, so much legal fun it's amazing, but driving it at
30mph just seems so much of a hassle. Then my driving instructor came up
with some facts. He said add up the cost of buying your Ferrari then add
on the insurance, add on your yearly running costs in including
servicing, tyres etc.
Then he said calculate how many hours you would
actually get to drive your car. Then calculate how many hours you would
drive the car as it should be driven. In both cases you get a
ridiculously high hourly rate to own a car. So much so that to hire one
like I did with professional instruction becomes a bargain.
So I have readjusted my dream, I will stick with
my comfortable road car but when I fancy, to the racetrack I will go in
the full knowledge I am getting a better deal than the rich and famous.
There are many track deals around the UK stating from Ģ99 why not give
a try and see if your dream changes.
