Van Horssen Group

I am traveling more than ever these days. Sometimes I don’t even know where I will be heading to next or when I’m departing. With such a hectic schedule I am very pleased to be a member of Van Horssen Group and take advantage of their exceptional customer service. What I like most is the airport pick-up and drop-off. It’s the next best thing to flying private! I can call, even at the last minute, reserve one of my favorite cars and they’ll meet me right on the curb outside baggage claim. It’s great to see a Ferrari F430 roll up and be able to hop in and drive off without having to deal with shuttles, paperwork and hassles. When I’m done, just a quick phone call and I’m off to the airport. They meet me at departures and I don’t have to deal with a complicated return, parking or refueling. The cars in the collection are great, but the service makes driving them so much more enjoyable!

Trevor
Van Horssen Group Member ‘05

For a car guy, it’s pretty hard to beat a day where you get to drive five of the world’s best cars.

World Class Driving has been providing this rare opportunity for several years now. Not only do they give you the chance to drive incredible cars, but you do so on great roads that really allow you to experience and compare all the cars. They are the original company to offer this program and their experience shows; they run very professionally and are able to provide a very smooth, safe and extremely fun day for all participants.

I had the incredible chance to participate in one of their events in Las Vegas where I was able to drive a Ferrari 599 Fiorano and a Bentley Continental GT Speed, among other great cars. I knew the 599 is one of the best cars out there, this just confirmed that opinion. The Speed however was a very pleasant surprise offering a significant performance boost to an already very fast and elegant car. Perhaps the best thing about all of the WCD cars was that they are in excellent condition and the whole program is run by staff that really know what they are doing.

Van Horssen Group is looking forward to working with World Class Driving in the future and being able to provide WCD drivers a chance to use the world’s best cars in the Van Horssen Group collection and give existing Van Horssen Group members opportunities to participate in WCD events.

Scott Harrington
VP Southwest

Being around so many exceptional cars I get spoiled. I’m reminded of this every time someone asks me about some $200k+ car and I shrug with a “it’s nice.” But when anyone brings up the Ford GT, they are immediately my friend and I start spouting the triumphs and tribulations of this great car.

Of all the cars in the Van Horssen Group collection, this one stands on its own in many ways. Perhaps the first is when I list the typical cars in the collection…Aston, Bentley, Ferrari, um, FORD, Lamborghini, etc.…no offense meant to Ford but they are not usually mentioned in the same breath as these other premium car manufacturers.

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I’ve been a member of Van Horssen Group for one year now and truly enjoy the club. I looked around at many options when it came to car clubs but ultimately chose VHG for the selection of cars and the convenience. In my first year, I’ve driven the Aston Martin DB9, Bentley Flying Spur, Lamborghini Gallardo, Ford GT, JCW GP Mini and the Ferrari F430. I’m impressed with the convenience and the top-of-the-line customer service by everyone at VHG. The scheduling of the cars is easy and flexible which is fantastic compared to other exotic rent-a-car companies. I look forward to participating in some of the group events and always look forward to the next car! It’s a great experience for anyone who is a car-guy and my wife and son love it too!

B. MacDonald
Van Horssen Group Member

Exotic car share clubs make economic sense. They also eliminate the non-economic pains of ownership.

First, unless you are among a select few who can get your hands on some of the very, very limited new Ferrari’s at sticker, owning one super premium exotic just doesn’t make any economic sense. Owning more than one makes even less sense. You buy exotic cars and then restrict your driving because of practical use issues and the high depreciation rate on super premium cars. It costs the owner of a super premium exotic in the range of $50,000 or higher per year to own a car driven less than 1,500 miles per year. You do it because you can and want to and there is nothing wrong with that.

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I have the pleasure of driving some amazing cars as the Operations Manager for Van Horssen Group. One of my all around favorites is the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. I love it due to its looks, performance, comfort and all around great driving experience. Most people tend to think with such a great car that nothing goes wrong, that is not the case! The main issue I have run into with the Lamborghini is a little phrase on the dash that reads, “SOFT TOP CANNOT BE USED” it may happen when you push the button to put the top down or up, or it will happen half way through the process and leave the vehicle looking like the picture below.

This has happened a few times and enough for me to know how to deal with it manually. A lot of people do not realize there is a manual option for this type of problem. The problems have been stemming from bad latches that don’t latch completely which will not allow the top to be used. In most cases with the latches the dealers have had the problem resolved in under thirty minutes and back on the road within an hour or two. There is a section in the owner’s manual that explains how to manually put the top up and down. Ideally this is a two person job but it can be done with one person if necessary. If you pay close attention to the movements of the roof and engine cover while the top is being put up or down you will have a good feel for how to do it manually should the need arise.

Jarrod Freehan
Operations Manager

We were proud to be a part of Fox News on November 29th. They too thought the Van Horssen Group concept of enabling people to experience a variety of cars without the cost and hassles of ownership was pretty cool.

Check out the Fox News segment

Here are a few of the pictures from our first stay out at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) last weekend for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Checker Auto Parts 500 here in Phoenix. If some of you don’t already know my wife has turned into a race fan. A serious race fan. Thanks to Derek Dixon, Ed Miller and of course Mick Williamson. Last spring they invited us out to our first race. Ever since then Dawnie can’t stop talking about who her driver should be, the race for the chase, how they change the cars set up at different tracks be it a road course or oval etc etc etc. Her driver is Jeff Gordon, because he won the race here in the spring for his first time and it was Dawnie’s first race.

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We are often asked which car is our favorite and after much deliberation, digression and qualifications I usually say the Porsche GT3. But what about the Turbo? The performance stats of these two cars are almost identical and it is definitely right up there in my top 5. So how do two cars that look the same in person and on paper, drive so differently?

Much of how they differ can be summed up in a description of the big tachometer in action. When you get on the gas in the GT3, you watch the needle rise smoothly, and keep on rising…forever…all the way to 8400rpms while the engine screams notes of powerful naturally aspirated pleasure all the way up. The Turbo, on the other hand, when you punch the pedal you hesitate, that is until the revs hit about 3700rpm. At that point, you better drop your cell phone and latte because you will be at what was the horizon just seconds ago. Accompanying this time warp is a quick gasp, like someone’s last breath before a deep plunge. And unless you like to visit the Porsche service center often, you better keep a close eye on the needle as it will rocket into the red line almost right after you pressed the pedal.

There are a slew of other differences that make these cars different, but bottom line is they are both a blast to drive. One might be more enjoyed setting lap times on a road course, the other getting ahead of the pack in a sea of traffic. What do you say? GT3 or Turbo?

Scott Harrington
Director of Programs

When big, bulky German sedans stray too far from an exhilarating driving experience, there is one car that blends sophisticated four door comfort with Italian style and performance - the Maserati Quattroporte.  This impressive car is the newest addition to the Private Collection and is now ready to enjoy!

The Quattroporte is Maserati’s flagship saloon and a fine handcrafted blend of a comfortable, spacious, luxury sedan with the nimble dynamic handling of thoroughbred GT.  This particular car is the Sport GT version which further enhances its performance characteristics with a re-tuned gearbox, 20" light alloy wheels and an aggressive black mesh front grill.

The exterior color is a deep Grigio (silver); the interior is black leather with white piping and Alcantara headlining.  The engine is a Ferrari derived 4.2 liter V8 producing 400 bhp.