My Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale Story

[sydude]

This is a story about vehicular lust, a failed attempt at self restraint and then finally, disaster barely averted. Ever since the Stradale was introduced, it had me completely mesmerized. To me it's the most amazing car in the world - half race car, half work of art. It looks incredible, sounds awesome and it's performance is outrageous. If you don't know what the Stradale is, it's a street legal version of the 360 Challenge car. Here are some pictures of one:




So a few weeks ago, one of my cousins who just bought one, brings it to a party out in a Westchester country club that we're both attending, and at the end of the night (around 3am) he flips me the keys and asks me to take him for a spin (of course I planted the seed around 10 times that day). The interior was unbelievable (same as the picture above). Seats are race buckets covered in red and black alcantara suede and carbon fiber, as is everything else in the interior. Incredible.

So off we go, driving this UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING sounding and UNBELIEVABLY LOUD beast (it's barely muffled, and the engine sits right behind your head and is separated from the cabin by a single layer of plexiglass) as sanely as I can possibly manage. I must admit that I had more than one or two shots of Tequila that night, and I knew it would be better if I just took it easy. The thing felt and sounded like what I'd imagine an F1 car to feel and sound like, and the special Stradale F1 SMG transmission was super fast and positive. I could feel how amazingly SICK this car was. A complete race car for the street. So I tried REALLY hard not to go crazy and just puttered down the road.

But my friend just wouldn't let it go. He had to draw first blood. He just had to draw THE RED MIST. He kept saying - "give it a go! give it a go!" and "go faster!", and then finally "show me what it can do!". That was just too much to resist. I couldn't control myself.

In an instant my brain, and my six pertinent extremities went into 'race mode'. Uh oh. Foot to the floor, up-shifting the paddles at redline with the intoxicating scream of the Ferrari motor in my ear, I bent the car into the right hander passing south of Westchester Airport on Route 120. Flat. Entered it at 80, still flat and going past 120, through the turn I noticed two big trucks in my left lane. The working and non working parts of my reflex system didn't say anything about slowing down to pass them, so I didn't. Passing the first on the right, now doing 125. Just before passing the second, I realized that I have to turn left onto Purchase street! Brain instantly calculated threshold braking limit, entry speed and the turn in point needed to make the turn - hard on the brakes NOW, and turned in at the turn in point - which was just after the nose of the truck!

Tires screeching, trail braking now into Purchase Street, still carrying ALOT of speed. Here comes the exit.... I see a brick wall looming closer... it's going to be close....! So now I'm willing the car and myself into driving away from the wall, partially by saying out loud (but very calmly) 'please don't hit the wall. please don't hit the wall!' - which thank goodness worked. I cleared it with plenty of space. At least 3 feet.

But then I realize that my passenger is absolutely dead silent, almost catatonic! Whoops! I forgot about him! I think I may have scared the shite out of him. He had no clue where I was ever intending to go - that turn using the truck as the turn in point into a street he couldn't see might have been slightly surprising... And me saying 'please don't hit the wall.."?

But the RED MIST is still in the air between my ears, so my contemplation of my passenger's mental state at that point ended pretty quickly, and so my foot never came off the throttle stop. Full throttle, up the gears down Purchase Street. Passenger still dead silent. Here comes Old Oaks... hard on the brakes, throw the car to the right and enter the gates. Full throttle, up to 100mph, brain thinking hard about where the braking and turn in points are before the grass field arrives. Brain says hard on the brakes NOW - then brain says turn in NOW. I think the Brain may have miscalculated slightly... Entry speed was 2mph too high. Left wheels onto the grass (!!!) scrubbing some speed, and then when back on the road fully, back to full throttle and up to the club house...!!

At this point my brain decided to go back into 'normal human being' mode, and I decided to slow down and ask my passenger if he 'had fun' and 'are you ok?', which he answered a very unconvincing 'uh huh...' to both. He really didn't (or couldn't?) say anything again that night... but the next day he said to me "it's a good thing I had more to drink that night than you!"

In hindsight, I showed pretty awful judgment taking the car out that night. There was no way that I would have ever been able to control myself from behaving in a normal manner driving that beast, especially while my faculties were not optimal (are they ever, though?). I was very lucky not to have swiped that wall, which would have meant a good 10-20K in damage and would have probably obligated me to buy the car off of him.

hmmmm... maybe I should have hit that wall....

[birkmama]

Some of this needs clarification:
1. The Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradele is the road going version of the racing version of the road car. And I always thought German logic had its peculiar ways. But after all "grande confusione" IS Italian.
2. Sy, explain to us, how your cousin became a friend became "the passenger" in only one quick stint.

[sydude]

Originally Posted by birkmama

Some of this needs clarification:

Sy, explain to us, how your cousin became a friend became "the passenger" in only one quick stint.

I think the scientific word for it is 'disassociation' (?). I didn't even realize that I was doing that.

[sydude]

Originally Posted by birkmama

Some of this needs clarification:

2. Sy, explain to us, how your cousin became a friend became "the passenger" in only one quick stint.

A better explanation is needed. I guess I wrote my story in the same chronological order that I experienced it, so in the beginning of the ride, all was well, but by the end I think I wasn't so thrilled with my irresponsible behavior and I guess I felt pretty embarassed in front of my host, so I sort of pushed him away in the way I referred to him.

BTW, his actual relationship to me is that he is my sister's husband's half-brother.

Which reminds me of a funny line in Spaceballs, the movie:

HELMET: Before you die, there is something you should know about us, Lone Starr.

LONE STARR: What?

HELMET: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former room-mate.

LONE STARR: What's that make us?

HELMET: Absolutely nothing. Which is what you are about to become. Prepare to die.