Every year Mike and I try to set aside time from our regular SEMA Show activities to take part in something fun and unique, something we would not normally experience back home in NY. Last year we got our hands on a few guns and had some fun on a shooting range, this year we are in store for a whole another animal, racing on the famous Las Vegas Motor Speedway! Exotics Racing offers many different “Driving Experience Packages” that put you in some of the worlds fastest super cars for 5 thrill packed laps. They own over 30 exotic cars, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches and all of the cars are equipped with paddle shifters, making the driving experience easy for drivers of all skill levels. Over 40,000 guests have participated in the Exotics Racing Driving Experience since the company launched in 2009 and we could not be more excited to become part of it! We’ll get a driving class before hand and then we will be driven for a lap inside a Porsche Cayenne SUV for additional instructions.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is located approximately twenty minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, so it is only a short drive from our hotel. We will be stepping foot on a private 1.2 mile race track that includes seven turns with turn 2 having an 11% banking and a 1,800-foot main straight away. To say that I’m itching to floor it on that straight away is an understatement with top speeds reaching 130mph. While neither one of us has any racing experience, I know we’ll be anxious to see who’s going to get the fastest time.

Now the only choice left is what vehicle to pick! This was a tough call, so we both debated which cars to pick for a while. Since it’s only five laps around the track at break neck speed and we have no experience we wanted to keep a more modest budget. We both were drawn to the exotic Lambos and Ferraris but in the lower price tiers they are not as fast relatively speaking. Therefore we both favored the faster vehicles and our decisions are below.

Mike – Audi R8 V10
Mike is a big fan of Ironman so I wasn’t surprised he went with the Audi R8 V10. This car has elegance with all kinds of power and handling.  The R8 is manufactured in the state of the art factory in Germany which works solely on this vehicle with elite engineers and technicians to achieve perfection.  Audi was reportedly very upset that the movie Ironman planned to demolish one of these limited production vehicles during one of the final scenes so they altered the end of the movie just to preserve the vehicle.  Hopefully Mike won’t offend Audi by harming this vehicle but I think he’ll make them proud and push this vehicle on the track as it was intended.  Now, it wasn’t easy for Mike to choose his ride because he is also a huge 007 fan therefore he almost went with the Aston Martin.  Ultimately the thought of driving the faster R8 and being Tony Stark for a few laps prevailed.

Engine: 5.2L V10 – Gearbox: 6-speed R-Tronic
Power: 525hp at 8,000rpm – Torque: 530Nm
Top Speed: 196mph – Acceleration: 0-60mph in 3.7s
Market Value: $170,000

Greg – Nissan GT-R
Going to the race track is a once in a life time experience for me thus far, so I was really thinking of pure speed. Therefore the GT-R, aka Godzilla, was the car I just kept coming back to. I remember Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear hurt his neck while test driving this car from pushing it too hard. This may concern someone smarter than I but I’ll have a helmet on and I doubt I’ll push it to that extreme. So while the GT-R is not a traditional exotic car the speed and power are what I’m anxious to experience.

Engine: 3.8-liter V6 – Gearbox: 6-speed semi-auto
Power: 530hp at 6400rpm – Torque: 661Nm
Top Speed: 196mph – Acceleration: 0-60mph in 3.0s
Market Value: $115,000

So it’s Mike versus Greg, Ironman versus Godzilla, Euro versus JDM, V10 versus V6, who will have the faster times? Which car would you have choose from the same price tier at Exotics Racing? If you could select any car to race on a track which one would you pick? We’ll post pictures and updates on the evening of Monday November 4th, so please check back!