Joy Ride

~ by Chris #16 Demaras ~

There’s something extra special about skipping work on a sunny day to head to the race track, and it’ll be cars instead of karts this time. Daniel and I drove out to Cayuga to visit Toronto Motorsports Park for another go at their Exotic Car Experience.

While passing through Hamilton, we decided to switch drivers. We pulled into NV Auto for an impromptu car-show before continuing on our journey. The air suspension these guys installed on my Subaru SVX got me plenty of street cred, so I was looking forward to seeing what they were working on next. For Daniel, it was his first time at this Subaru Specialists shop, and as he stared at his WRX, I could see gears in his mind turning.

Arriving at the front gates of TMP was like coming home again. I brought Daniel here as a kid to see dragsters in his formative years. Plus, in 2020 we visited TMP twice to drive the F430 and F-2000 cars. This time, we’d be going for joy-rides in the Lamborghini Gallardo, Nissan GT-R and Corvette.

This place is a candy store for car guys. Daniel couldn’t resist turning some laps in the convertible Ferrari. Last year he samples a silver F430 hardtop, but it just isn’t a ride in a Ferrari unless it’s the race team’s official rosso corsa red.

Next up, both of us got to try out the Nissan GT-R, an all wheel drive, twin-turbo V6 beast of a car, looking absolutely sinister in the black on black paint. Daniel described the feeling of turbo boost coming on as almost scary. The acceleration isn’t linear, like it would be with a naturally aspirated car. It accelerates harder the faster you go. The WRX has done nothing to prepare him for this ride.

One of the only manual-transmission cars was a Corvette Stingray. It’s a previous generation car, but it’s a convertible, so that makes it all better. The instructor pointed out that most people don’t select the Corvette to drive. I thought it was because it’s a more traditional front-engine, rear-drive American V8…but it turns out it’s the colour. The dark green on saddle leather simply doesn’t trike people as a dream car.