My 2016 in Cars

"marshknute" (marshknute) 01/04/2017 at 10:27 • Filed to: None

5

10

The highlight was driving this rented Ferrari 458 Spider through Tuscany, Italy.

And here’s the rest, in no particular order:

2015 Subaru WRX STI

2017 Porsche 718 Boxster (base 2.0T 300hp)

2017 Porsche 991.2 Carrera (base 3.0T 370hp)

2015 Ford Focus SE (rental car)

2016 Audi A6 2.0T (loaner car)

2014 Audi S8

2014 Lexus ES300h

2009 Toyota Sequoia

2010 Toyota Tundra

2016 Dodge Ram 1500

2008 Chevy C6 Base Vette (my track car)

2014 Chevy C7 Corvette Z51 (my Aunt’s track car)

2004 Porsche 996 GT3 (Uncle’s track car, only drove it through tech inspection)

Rico > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 10:37

0

Damn you lit! Sheesh that’s a lot of cool cars.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 10:42

1

Ferrari? Beats the hell out of my rental in Tuscany lol. What parts of Tuscany did you explore?

marshknute > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/04/2017 at 11:21

1

But I always thought rear-engine/manual > mid-engine/auto on the Jalop scale of Jalopiness?!?

I couldn’t tell you what roads we took (we just followed the tour guides’ car in front of us), but we drove from the Piazza Michelangelo to the Castello di Verrazzano vineyard, and then back to Florence.

marshknute > Rico 01/04/2017 at 11:25

1

Admittedly, nearly all the cool cars were trackday related. The WRX is my cousins, and our trackday sponsor (Paul Miller Porsche) brought a fleet of new Boxsters/Carreras along for test drives one weekend.

Rico > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 11:31

1

That’s the best way to drive them!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 12:42

0

Oh okay so you were mostly in Florence. I had driven from Rome to Siena and spent the day stopping in random small places. Followed SR2 I believe most of the way. Then spent some time exploring some curvy roads around Siena, making that rear-engine work like a race car. Cheap rental cars are the fastest cars in the world so I took advantage of that!

But yeah, I forgot the Smart car is more Jalop then!

surgesilk > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 13:02

1

Heading to Tuscany in March with the family. Any suggestions/advice?

marshknute > surgesilk 01/04/2017 at 14:12

1

Not sure if you’ve booked the flights yet, but most flights arrive in Italy sometime mid-morning. We flew into Pisa instead of Florence, then killed time by seeing the Leaning Tower and eating lunch, then drove to Florence before napping off the jet lag before dinner.

We rented the Ferrari from Test Drive Firenze . Their prices are actually pretty reasonable depending on how long you want to drive for. I’d suggest renting for 60 minutes (€250 which is about $261) which gives you enough time to get out of the city and into the deserted country roads. You’ll have to follow a lead car, so let them get ahead then floor it on the next straight until you catch them. You’ll get either the California T or the 458 Spider, so make sure they know how many passengers you’ll have.

Not sure how artsy your family is, but if you go to the Uffizi Gallery, I’d suggest NOT getting a guided tour, and instead walk through at your own pace. The architecture and art become hopelessly boring after a 3+ hour lecture and there’s only a handful of recognizable paintings (this is coming from someone with an architecture degree).

Our favorite restaurants were Il Profeta and Antica Osteria 1 Rosso . Both have HUGE menus that will satisfy even the pickiest eaters (like my gluten-free Mom!) And order anything that has porcini mushrooms in it because they’re native to Italy and the most delicious things in the world (even my mushroom-hating sister loved them).

And, of course, wine tours if possible. Because Tuscany.

surgesilk > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 14:15

2

Thanks...we actually fly into Milan. Going to Lake Cuomo then touring Tuscany

pip bip - choose Corrour > marshknute 01/04/2017 at 17:38

0

lucky bugger!