[SnS_12]

Driving a Ferrari at least once in our lifetime is every car enthusiasts dream, and I was able to fulfil my dream of driving one, in my recent trip to Paris. I have already posted about it in my travelogue, http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-france-2.html but, I realised that quite a few people who had visited Paris in the past had no idea about it. So, I decided it’s better to start a separate thread on it, which could help people on the forum visiting Paris in the future to have the experience of driving a Ferrari for just € 89.


If you google, then there will be some websites, where you can pre book your ride, but it’s advisable to go directly to the location where the cars are parked to get a better deal. The best place in Paris to find them is Champs Elysees. If you walk towards Arc De Triomphe on Champs Elysees, then you will find the cars parked on the left hand side of the road at the starting of the lanes. I had spotted some cars on one of the right lanes as well. But, this is not the place I took the ride from as, on day two of our Paris trip, we spotted a Ferrari California parked on Trocadero, which was very unusual. We just walked towards it to take some selfie’s with the Ferrari and straight up, a guy approaches us and asks us if we are interested in driving it. Now, we wanted to get a breakfast first as my wife was hungry and she needed a coffee to feel fresh, but, then this guy said that he normally is not around in this area and is mostly in Champs Elysees . So, I and my wife just discussed and she knew how excited I was to drive a Ferrari and she said we can go for coffee post the ride.


The previous night I had spotted some Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s parked in Champs Elysees, but upon inquiring I was given a ridiculously high price to drive one. Hence, the next day it was time to put the Indian bargaining skill to the test. The base rate is € 89 and normally they charge € 30 for additional person and € 20 for Insurance. I bargained with him and said to include all this in € 89 as, I was not willing to pay anymore and also managed to get additional 10 minutes added to my ride as the ride is normally supposed to be for 20 minutes. Not bad, huh? The interesting part was that he never asked me to show the international driving license or for that matter my Indian license. He just asked my name and made me sign on the form, that’s it and I was all set to drive my first Ferrari. This is the second time I am driving a left hand drive super car, as, I had previously driven the Audi R8 V10 at Buddh International circuit. That experience was at a totally different level as it was on a Formula 1 track and you could really push the car.

A video, where we were taught the braking technique on the Audi R8 at Buddh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Rne9VHHTE

Doing my first few laps in the Audi R8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO9vtA1xESA

Now, my wife had to manage in the back seat as the guy would sit in front with me. It was not a very comfortable place to be in, but my wife did not complain and she herself was excited to be in a Ferrari too. I was asked to adjust the seat position and the mirrors to my preference and, we are all set to roll, so, press the brake and push the start button and the naturally aspirated V8 comes to life. I was driving in auto mode with comfort setting and I drove towards to Eiffel, where we clicked some pictures. It was an amazing feeling driving a Ferrari with open top and that too in Paris. Within the city you can’t really drive fast as there is a speed limit of 60 kph and plus there is a lot of traffic and many traffic signals. I was managing well driving a left hand drive Ferrari on public streets. If you are driving a super car for the first time on public streets, then you would not complain as its an experience in itself. But, otherwise there is nothing interesting as you really can’t even get to experience what the car has to offer due to the traffic and the speed limit. At one signal I asked the guy if I could put the car in neutral and he looked at me and said yes, but was wondering would I know how to do it. I just pulled both the paddles simultaneously and he was like how do you know all this. To this my wife mentioned that he is very passionate about bikes and cars and watches a lot of videos and has learnt all this from there. I asked him what other cars they have in their fleet and asked if they have the 488 GTB, to which he said yes. I told him I wanted to drive that, but that would mean my wife would not be able to join us, and hence I went ahead with the California. Later I asked him and shifted the knob to sports mode. Now, I could feel the gearbox holding on to the gear at a higher rpm and was it not that eager to shift gears, which means better exhaust sounds with all that popping when you let go of the accelerator. It was music to the ears. The brakes on the Ferrari, were not that strong and I had heard from some friends who have driven a Ferrari in the past that the brakes are not that confident inspiring, plus they were making squealing sounds every time I applied them. Plus, this particular car was driven around 22,000 plus kms. After driving around Paris, we approached an empty stretch of road where I could push the car. This was a straight stretch with two tunnels, the smaller tunnel is where Princess Diana died in the road accident. The V8 sound coming from those four exhaust pipes was pure orgasm inside the tunnel. This was one of the best days in my life and I had fulfilled one more long standing dream of driving or rather I can say racing a Ferrari.

Pictures

















If you are in Paris, give this guy a call to get a good deal



Some videos

Don't miss the exhaust popping sounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3e4KWMOH9s

The roar of the V8 inside the tunnel is to die for

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urnoAY0zSVk

[abhii176]

Wow that must have been some experience, must you got a super deal! This would be very helpful for anyone travelling to Paris and hoping to get a supercar experience, so thanks a ton for this.
On another note though, your wife must have had a torrid time in that almost non-existent backseat!

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by abhii176

Wow that must have been some experience, must you got a super deal! This would be very helpful for anyone travelling to Paris and hoping to get a supercar experience, so thanks a ton for this.
On another note though, your wife must have had a torrid time in that almost non-existent backseat!

What I paid was peanuts compared to what I got to experience. For the ASE (Audi Sportscar Experience) in Buddh, I had paid a 5 digit figure in 2012, but as I said it was on a F1 track and can't be compared to the street experience. Yes, my wife had a tough time in the backs eat, but the thrill of being in a Ferrari compensated for that.

[haria]

Wow Nice! Great experience and the videos were good too! Traffic seems to be pretty same as in India! :-)

[Sudeep_Kimster]

I have driven a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder at exactly same place, same route. Though i did get an opportunity to push the car inside the tunnels.
It was one experience, i couldn't forget. Would have loved to try out the 458 Italia though.

Nice to know you could experience the same.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Sudeep_Kimster

I have driven a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder at exactly same place, same route. Though i did get an opportunity to push the car inside the tunnels.
It was one experience, i couldn't forget. Would have loved to try out the 458 Italia though.

Nice to know you could experience the same.

Yes, the tunnel is the only stretch that you can really push the car. I was surprised to see such an empty stretch of road in Paris during the day. The guy mentioned that its better to drive in the night as the streets are relatively empty.

I think, I saw the yellow Gallardo your drove on my last day in Paris. They have a good collection of cars ranging from the the 458, 488 and the Huracan. If I and my wife were allowed to go together in these two seater beauties, I would have not mind driving one every day in the three days we spent in Paris.

[dileepcm]

I have seen those cars multiple times and it was always so tempting to try out, but for some reason I was bit hesitant.
Now decision has been made - I cant wait for next visit!!



When I was at Paris a few weeks ago, I saw a lineup of old Army looking sort of trucks for 59 EUR. I did not take a photo, but it was very close to where these cars are usually parked.