While in Las Vegas I got to live out the dreams of many a car aficionado. Yes, I drove luxury cars and I didn’t even have to place a down payment or feign interest in buying one to do so!
When I first showed up at World Class Driving I was under the impression that we might be taking the cars out for a spin in a racetrack. I pictured myself seated in the passenger seat next to a professional race car driver, seatbelt fastened, and scrunching my face into all sorts of unflattering expressions as we put the pedal to the metal. Imagine my surprise when I was handed a pair of keys and told, “You’re going to be driving today.”
Me? You want me to drive?!
You want ME to drive cars that are worth close to HALF A MILLION DOLLARS?!
Wait, AND we’re taking these cars on the highway?!
Are you serious?!?!?!
AAAAAAAAAAH!
I mean, yes, I’ll do it!
Driving exotic cars
If you’ve ever dreamed of driving luxury cars and didn’t think it was possible, allow me to introduce you to World Class Driving located in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you’re a car buff, this place will make your dreams come true.
How it works is that you get to test drive a series of vehicles, but you have two professional drivers for support. The first driver is in the lead car. He sets the pace and communicates with you through the radio telling you when to switch lanes and what turns to make. The other driver is at the end of the pack. He makes sure no one gets lost in traffic, and he also blocks traffic so that you can safely switch lanes once you’re out on the highway. I’m a pretty confident driver, but having these two cars as a buffer zone helped me feel a little better about test driving these luxury vehicles.
While the usual route goes out to Red Rock Canyon, because I was there on a weekend and we wanted to avoid heavy traffic, we actually ended up driving out to Lake Mead National Recreation Area to soak in the sights and see just how fast these babies could run.
Porsche
First up I hopped in the Porsche. My first impressions: I’m really low on the ground, these windows are smaller than any car I’ve ever been in, but man this is one fancy ride! The Porsche drove like a dream. She was smooth, easy to control, and handled speed with grace. I didn’t drive more than a few blocks before I was looking over at Sam and hinting at the fact that this would make one sweet birthday present. A girl can dream…
The views out to Lake Mead were gorgeous and I seriously had to keep reminding myself to keep my eyes on the road. Then once we reached Lake Mead, we parked the cars and had a bit of free time to take some photos from a scenic lookout point.
Lamborghini
Then it was my turn to hop in the Lamborghini, a car whose name I wouldn’t have been able to properly spell just a few days ago…
After a quick debriefing about the car and learning how to get it in gear using paddle shifting, we were off.
Whereas the Porsche was smooth, gentle, and easy to drive, the Lamborghini lived up to the manager’s description. “It’s rough, rigid, stiff and it’s gonna shake you like a guy.” Ahem, yes.
But he was right. You could feel the speed, the revving of the engine, and the car definitely shook everyone in it. I also found the brakes were hard and you had to really press down on them if you wanted the car to respond. It probably wouldn’t be my dream car (did I just say that about a Lamborghini?!), but I still had fun zipping around in it.
Ferrari
Then once we exited the park, it was time to change cars again. Last but not least I got in the Ferrari.
I ran through my usual routine: slide the seat forward, adjust mirrors, find the turn signals…whoa, WAIT, this car has no turn signals! Apparently that’s an afterthought when you’re driving a Ferrari…
The Ferrari was also a stiff drive and it almost felt like I was glued to the road, but that being said, it was a bit smoother than the Lamborghini.
Lastly, let’s talk about the noise. If my family’s Volkswagen Jetta is a gentle kitten purring, the Ferrari roared like a lion fighting for dominance and territory. All I could hear was the revving of the engine as we rode down the highway back to Las Vegas.
My overall thoughts
Even though I’m not a huge car enthusiast this was still a pretty cool experience! I don’t see myself owning an exotic car anytime soon (I’d be too nervous to drive or park it anywhere, plus the insurance would be astronomical), but that being said it was still a lot of fun taking these cars out for a spin. Where else are you going to do this if not in Las Vegas?
Details
- The World Class Driving Dream Garage is located at 4055 Dean Martin Drive just behind the Vegas Strip.
- World Class Driving offers a few different packages including 3 muscle cars for $299, or 3 exotic cars for $499.
- Drivers must be at least 23 years old in order to drive these vehicles.
- Lastly, make sure you have valid driving insurance before you get into one of these babies!
Thank you to Expedia Canada and World Class Driving for making this experience possible.
Driving one of these beast would have to be amazing even if you’re not a car fanatic. I would be scared of crashing it but would want to push it to the limits.
Thanks for the great writeup, Audrey! Glad you had a good time.
Aaron Fessler
CEO
World Class Driving
I would love to drive one of these cars but I would be so terrified I would either scratch it or crash it! This does seem like one of those perfect Vegas experiences though 🙂
That’s exactly how I felt! It’s not something I normally worry about when I’m driving my family’s car, but these are all things that flood your mind when you’re about to get into a car that’s SOOO EXPENSIVE!!!
Just curious, but do people have to pay to test drive the cars or are they allowed to test drive them in the hopes that they might buy one?
Oh, sorry … I didn’t read the bit at the end … however … if you DO decide to buy one, will they deduct the amount you paid from the purchase price?
The opening paragraph is my attempt at a joke – if you read on you’ll see that this is a tour and not a car dealership. 😉 People pay to spend a couple of hours test driving these cars around Las Vegas. It’s a bit of a unique experience, but there’s a market for it.
I have literally always wanted to do this; you’re living the dream girl!!
This reminds me of when I dropped north of $250 for a one day rental of an expensive luxury vehicle so I could drive stupidly fast on the Autobahn.
Maybe not my brightest move (240 kph) but sure makes for a great story.
Great Las Vegas idea!
Am heading to Las Vegas in 5 weeks, I didn’t know I was able to do something like this, Im definitely going to look into it tho and put up some posts on Facebook, people might think I have won the jackpot in Vegas and now own a Lamborghini 🙂
Cool! Would love to drive one of those…
Test driving any of these beautiful vehicles would be awesome! I think my favorite would be the Lamborghini, I really like them. The smooth curve of the body reminds me of an airplane wing. I bet it would cut through the air perfectly.
Oh, those porsche cars sure look beautiful and what I admire. Well, lucky for me I’m actually going to be taking my wife to a porsche sales event and maybe buy one. Since she needs a new car I figure it would be exciting for her test drive one like those in the picture.
Audrey, driving all those nice cars seems like such a fun adventure! It is good to know that the Porsche was a nice smooth ride and it was easy to control. My husband and I have been thinking of getting one. We will have to test drive one ourselves and see if it is as nice a drive as we have heard!
None of those are within my range but all of them are great cars with fantastic features. I wish if I could become a proud owner of one from this list. If I would have the money, Lamborghini would be my first choice.
Wow, what an experience! You have inspired me to put something like this on my bucket list. I am not the sort that would EVER buy an exotic car, regardless of my financial status, but this sounds amazing! Which one was your favorite??
Aah wow, driving these awesome cars on public roads, you are normally confined to a race track. Must have been an amazing experience driving them real roads. The look on other peoples faces as you drive past, If I’m ever in Vagas I am doing this!
I hate to admit it, but it’s been my dream to drive a luxury car since I was a little girl. Thank you for sharing your luxury car driving experience in Las Vegas. It’s incredible that they let you drive the cars out on the highway. It’s good to know that they had professional drivers in cars ahead of you and behind you. I’ll keep this in mind!