Cyber Greg

So in the last few days I've had the good fortune to drive some cool cars.
On Sunday I got to drive the new Porsche Carrera S with PDK, full leather wrap, in red, sport exhaust and seats, etc. List was $138K.

Today, I got to drive the brand new Aston Martin Vanquish list is $300K+ and a 2010 Aston DBS with manual also with a price tag close to $300K when new.

I have a 2013 Grand Sport with Michelin Pilot Super Sports, F55, and Caravaggio Daytona seats and steering wheel.

We all took turns driving each others cars. And we drove them hard in the canyons in Malibu just outside of Los Angeles. First, everyone was blown away by how well the 'vette performs. Steering input, suspension, seats, all got big thumbs up. The Porsche was also an awesome car. Steering feel was similar to the 'vettes as was turn in quickness. The Porsche comes alive around 5K RPM and the PDK is awesome as was the RED interior. It was great getting to drive my 'vette and the Carrera back to back. Both are really great cars and both are very fast in the canyons.

Now the Aston's were a different story. SOOOOO heavy. The V12 engines were great. Super free reving and sounded ridiculous! But the turn in on both cars sucked and the new all carbon Vanquish was absolutely no fun to drive. After a few miles I wanted my Grand Sport back. The DBS was a much better drivers car but still had zero steering feel. Brakes on the Vanquish started to fade on me and they are carbon ceramic. The DBS also came with carbon ceramic brakes and had brand new brake job as well that ran close to $25K yes that's correct $25,000.00 for a brake job. Sheesh...

The new Porsche and my 'vette were remarkably similar in ease of handling. Both are easy to learn and provide good feel and have fast turn in response. Both handle transitions very well.

It was great getting to drive these amazing cars but damn guys I'm telling you the Grand Sport with F55 and the Michelin's friggin' ROCKS

Gary '09 C6

world-class performance at a fraction of the price...that's what Corvette is all about !


nice write-up and thx for sharing.

wayback

But given the chance I would not pass up a drive in either of those cars.

Cyber Greg

Absolutely, I was very happy to be invited to the ball. My best friend races for Aston Martin so it's great to have the opportunity to drive these cars I would normally have no way of even sitting in let alone driving the crap out of them. It's really awesome and I feel super fortunate.

Gary '09 C6

I did the World Class Driving tour about four yrs ago...so I know what you both mean & I agree.
t was a blast driving a few exotics for a 1/2 day !

boraxman

75000 Vette owners cant be wrong...or may they just cant afford one of the above cars/

psp6158

A brake job that costs 1/2 what I paid for my Z... I'd have to take out a home equity loan, unreal

peter pan

Great write up and proves that the Vette is an awesome sports car, especially for the $$

obxchartercaptain

C7Joy

Wow, that's great! How I'd love to try out those other cars on a canyon road!

bigblock427

Pretty cool.

I friend of mine owns a Aston Martin Vantage. Absolutely a stunning looking car. It rode nice, but is sure felt "heavy". Acceleration and braking did not seem as good as my GS. But it is still a very nice ride.

sct1984

Similar feeling I got a few weeks ago after taking my father-in-law's California for a boot and then took the similar route in a buddy's Z. Don't get me wrong - even just sitting in his Cali is an incredible experience, let alone driving it. But once I drove the Z, I was surprised that I was much less excited to get back into the Ferrari - perhaps it would be different had it been a 458 - but that feeling has further fueled the desire for my own vette

Unlike him though, I am unfortunately on a budget lol

dvilin

Nice write-up, and sure it was a good experience getting to drive some of the best sportscars.

z51vett

Bet the brakes were never bedded on the Aston Martins.
z51vett

Bedouin

Performance Without Pretense is the vette m-o, & they got the steering feedback, turn-in, etc nailed in these later models.

I drove my friend's '12 911 Turbo w/ ceramic brakes, center lock hubs etc...imho, the steering feel wasn't noticeably better than my '12 GS. Damn nice car though & a beautiful interior.

Rich Mickol

Now that's a fun way to spend a day. Thanks

Cyber Greg

Yeah, it was pretty darn cool for sure!

Cyber Greg

I agree. The steering felt very similar between the 2013 Carrera S and my GS. And yes, the all red leather wrap was too cool!

TKgs2010

I was recently in Florida and a good friend works for a major Porsche dealer there and he always gets to drive the latest German toys. I got the chance to drive a 2012 911 GT3RS, normally aspirated, center locks, manual trans, a 2012 Turbo with PDK and the monster 911 GT2RS, one of only a handful in the States. I'll admit the PDK works very well and the 911 Turbo is a fantastic car, but I'm a 3 pedal driver all the way, and I felt the same as when I drove a Nissan GTR, I liked it, but I wouldn't buy it unless it had a manual. The GT3 is stellar, it does everything perfectly, balance is perfect, brakes exceptional, just a great car. The GT2RS is in another league, drives much like the GT3 but with a TON more horsepower, the thing is scary fast, the boost hits like an afterburner, too bad the thing costs $250 large. I've never yet had the chance to drive a new Aston Martin, but anybody, myself included will say there's likely not a better looking car on the road today, every one is gorgeous. From what I'm told, the Aston to buy if you want the performance is the V8 Vantage with a manual, in my opinion even better looking than the V12 cars.

Cyber Greg

My friend currently owns a 2011 V8 Vantage N420 with the paddle shift manual. The car is great! The paddle shift manual transmission is not so hot. So, he ordered a new GT3 which only comes with PDK. Looking forward to getting to drive it too!