Ferrari’s new Classiche Academy is underway, and it makes possible one of the great automotive impossibilities: the opportunity to see, learn about, feel and drive classic Ferraris. This, and more, takes place over two days of immersion in the world of Ferrari at the marque’s Fiorano circuit.
Not quite the multi-million-pound V12 GTs of the 50s and 60s. You do, however, get the authentic 70s and 80s experience, with a 308 GTS and GTBi. Unlike any other supercar driving experience, Ferrari opens by taking you underneath these early era Ferrari supercars, to discover what makes them tick.
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Then you go for a tour of the Officine Classiche Ferrari, where you can view technical drawings and notes taken by engineers in period. The marque has an archive of notes, drawings and race reports going back to 1947.
Driving classic Ferraris
The track experience shouldn’t be the standard UK fare of ‘stay in a gear, don’t go over X,XXXrpm’, either. With the Classiche Academy, you get a course in vehicle dynamics and corner management.
You learn various driving techniques like high-speed counter steering, wet-weather driving, heel and toe and double clutching. It’s all stuff you’d at least hesitate to try on the road in your own car, let alone in someone else’s classic Ferrari.
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This is all because Ferrari wants to deliver pre-digital driving experiences and to encourage the learning of car control in cars with no safety net to catch you. Again, how many people who actually own these cars dedicate time to learning how to drive them?
Imagine in 30 years time if Ferrari offered a two-day course at Fiorano where you got to learn to drift ‘classic’ 458s? That’s the kind of thing this is for 70s and 80s supercar aficionados.