By Simona Mihalca 
Las Vegas, Baby! Smack right in the desert, this fascinating city of lights, hotels, of excess.If you cannot find something to do in Las Vegas, you either don’t have enough money or creativity. I might not have been fascinated by slot machines, but I sure wanted to see other types of machines… the super cars.
If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be strapped into a rocket disguised as a car, let me introduce you to Speed Vegas. We had a blast there: from getting to take a mighty Lamborghini Huracán for a spin, to settling happily into my royal role as a Professional Passenger Princess in a Ferrari 488.
While I do have my driver’s license now, but why would I give up the best seat in the house? I am not going to lie, I was beyond terrified of the idea of driving a 660 horse power car on a racing circuit. When the car is worth well over 300,000 $, I will leave the driving to the professionals.
The whole experience starts before you even touch a steering wheel. The place is sleek and buzzing with energy, or maybe that was just us. You sign in, pick your car, and go through a safety briefing that covers everything from track rules to how not to embarrass yourself behind the wheel. Even if you’ve never driven anything more exotic than a hatchback, they’ve got you covered.
Part one: My Ferrari Ride Along
Now for the real highlight. I strapped into a Ferrari 488 ride-along with a professional driver. I might have been scared to drive it, but I sure was excited to be in it, to hear the motor roar. If I thought I had felt speed before, I definitely haven’t. We hit 202 km/h, and I know this because they record everything. You get a split screen of the track, your speed, and your face slowly realizing what 202 km/h actually feels like.
When the driver slammed the gas pedal, baby, we were flying. Every corner was chaos. I was being thrown left and right, laughing, gasping, and holding on while the Ferrari glided around like it was weightless. It was like karting on cocaine: violent, exhilarating, and addictively fun.
Watching the driver handle that much raw power so calmly was a whole education in itself. Driving is one thing, but racing is pure art. This is not your typical driving experience, enjoying the road. As soon as you feel the rush of that speed, the brake is slammed and you know you’re in it for a corner. Everything is coming to you fast and it honestly feels a bit of an out of body experience. I most certainly could not make the car do that, but I absolutely loved it.
I do want to say that this is a masterclass on driving and it’s not just for those who are afraid of supercars. I think even if you consider yourself a good driver and want to experience it all, it sure helps to see how the professionals do it. To know what you’re up against and what the car can really do.
Part two: The Lamborghini Huracán Experience
Meanwhile, my better half was eagerly waiting to get behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracán, and even with hours spent on driving simulators, he quickly realized that nothing compares to the real thing. But if you do decide to drive, you don’t just hop in and floor it. You’re paired with an instructor who sits on your right and comes equipped with his own brake pedal. He’s your guardian angel, race coach, and slightly bossy co-pilot. He’ll tell you when to brake, when to accelerate, when to change gears. Think of it less as micromanaging, more as unlocking cheat codes in a video game. The instructor was next to him, guiding when to brake, shift, and push harder. The car is incredibly responsive, but controlling it at high speed is out of this world, thrilling, and humbling all at once.
On a personal note: Oh, what an experience! It is the kind of thing that leaves you without words, makes you question if life is really real, or you just lucked out on a really good matrix simulation. Even if I thought I knew it, I was a bit surprised at just how fast things are happening on the circuit and how quickly you need to react to everything. There is no time to relax because that car is going fast. I did get a sense of calm from the instructor, which helped. The circuit wasn’t too crowded and I got overtaken twice and I overtook another car twice. When being overtaken I was caught by surprise because I wasn’t able to see in my mirrors, as they were set for the instructor. I had no way of knowing when a car was close, but the instructor was very calm and he let me know when I should let a car pass by. Every time I was close to another car, he would gently help steer the wheel as an extra safety method. The overtakes were done extremely safely, at low speeds, because both cars were slowing down.
What a unique thing to do! Exhilarating, fast, impressive. With a touch of bittersweet at the end because you know that wasn’t enough, you can and should do better. You have to do it again and learn to be better at it. Next time we come to Vegas, he is definitely doing it again!
Part three: The Drift Experience
If the Ferrari ride was like a roller coaster, the drift ride was a comedy show on wheels. The drift car is a police looking Dodge that says “to protect and swerve”, and it sure did swerve. It reminded me of the Police Academy franchise, but once the tires started screaming, smoke swirling, and the car was sliding sideways, it felt like it was auditioning for Fast & Furious.
I did not expect this to be the highlight of the experience, but it was! You do not want to miss it. To see just how much fun you can have in a car, to see it do what it looks and feels like it shouldn’t be doing, but with such precise control. You thought for sure this is when the car has gone too far, but it is all designed. There’s this mix of thrills and enjoyment as though I’m in an amusement park, but then you snap out of it and realise it’s an actual car that’s doing that. On a road. Just with a really really good driver.
I for sure couldn’t drive the way my Ferrari driver could, and take those same corners that way. But that felt somehow doable. Like I have seen it before, it’s attainable. Drifting didn’t feel that way. It felt like an olympic lever athlete with whom I could never compete. They really burn those tires… We asked and they actually need a new set every day. Once the ride is over, the car parks in front of a water sprinkler designed to cool down the tires.
You have to do it!
Passenger Princess Verdict
Speed Vegas is polished, professional, and ridiculously fun. Everything runs smoothly, the staff makes you feel safe without killing the thrill, and the cars are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Whether you’re behind the wheel or riding shotgun, it’s an unforgettable adrenaline rush.
It was the perfect thing to do, a bombastic way to end a long and beautiful trip. It’s not something you get to do anywhere and anytime, so if you go to Las Vegas you don’t want to miss it. And as a final little secret, you don’t want to miss it because it’s actually much cheaper in Las Vegas than you’d expect:
Passanger Princess in a Ferrari 488 for 3 laps – $149
Racing an actual Lamborghini Huracán for 5 laps – $399
Drift ride-along for two people for 2 laps: $149
You can definitely go higher or lower because Speedvegas.com has plenty of cars, all of them fast and beautiful. They even have offroading if that’s your thing.
10/10 would recommend