CONTENTS
Since the invention of the internal combustion engine, the pedal has been well and truly to the metal of motoring innovation. A staggering array of vehicles are out there to be enjoyed, so don’t be content with mass-production cars and public roads! We’re going to tell you about some of the most exciting driving experiences that are on offer to anyone with a driving licence in the UK. From feeling the awesome rush and responsiveness of a Formula 1 race car to tackling off-road terrain and getting into the driving seat of vehicles you’ve only seen in blockbuster movies, there’s something for everyone on this list!
DRIVE A SUPERCAR
Let’s start with a crowd pleaser. Who hasn’t fantasised about driving a Ferrari, Porsche or Jaguar at some point in their life? The designs of these sports cars are absolutely iconic, but beauty isn’t just skin deep - underneath the bodywork are engineering marvels that give these supercars the power, poise and precision to leave ordinary road cars in the dust.
Driving a supercar takes the familiar motions of turning, accelerating and braking to a whole new level. To find out what we mean, we recommend to you a driving experience centre in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, where you can get into the driving seats of cars as diverse as the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Nissan GTR and a classic Ford Mustang.
FORMULA 1 EXPERIENCES
If supercars are the best machines that are permitted on public roads, Formula race cars are cut free of the restraints of the highway code and manufacturer safety regulations. The results are almost scary! You’ve seen these rockets on the TV coverage, lapping Monte Carlo in a matter of minutes and tearing up the tarmac of cities and circuits around the world, now you can try the real thing.
The centre in Hertfordshire that we mentioned above has three separate circuits, one of which is designed specifically for the pride of their fleet - a Jordan EJ12 which actually competed in the 2002 F1 season. As if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also got a couple of F1000 cars and an Ariel Atom which looks like a racer but has road-going credentials!
RALLY DRIVING
A need for speed is all very well and good, but style is important too - and there’s nothing like drifting around a corner in a cloud of smoke to stand out from the crowd. In order to drift, you need rear-wheel drive, lots of horsepower and nerves of steel! The best cars for the job are rally cars. We know a rallying centre in Oxfordshire that has a pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing - suped-up versions of Ford Escorts, Subaru Imprezas and BMWs that are perfect for the art of the drift.
NOVELTY VEHICLES
Cars, however, are not the be all and end all of motorsports. At Yumping.co.uk, we know that there are plenty of ways to configure an engine and some wheels. Not all of them favour speed, but stability, safety or down-right fun instead! Here are a couple of our favourites.
Buggies
Stripping things back to basics are off-road buggies. Designed to take on tricky terrain, such as sand dunes, mud and steep slopes, these machines waste no weight on comfort or styling. Unsurprisingly, thrashing a buggy around a track is a real thrill ride that will leave you with a huge smile on your face and souvenirs to take home with you - in the form of mud splatters and grains of sand! Try it out on an off-road track in Devon.
Tanks
From featherweight to heavyweight, driving a tank is an option for fans of war films or anyone who wants to dominate the terrain. Imagine climbing through the hatch of a real military moving fortress and feeling the power of the industrial engine and the trademark tank tracks. You can have this extremely out-of-the-ordinary experience in Kent, a county with driving experiences that also include 4x4 off-roading.
Hovercraft
Now that we’ve well and truly left conventional, wheeled vehicles behind, we can introduce hovercrafts, zany vehicles that float in the air on a cushion of air. The really cool thing about hovercraft is that they can fly above land or water, taking the idea of off-road to a whole new level. Propelled by a fan mounted on the back, hovercraft can be tricky to control, but it’s worth the effort to see driving in a whole new light. There's a provider in Warwickshire that specialises in aquatic hovercrafting.
As you can see, driving doesn't have to be pedestrian. Follow the links in this article to find the experience that suits you and we’ll help you arrive at your destination, ready to ride!
