What It's Actually Like to Drive a Supercar for the First Time
Most people who hire a supercar have never driven one. Almost all of them are quietly nervous on the way to the showroom. And almost all of them are comfortable within ten minutes. Here is what the first hour is actually like.
Getting in
The first surprise is how low you sit. In a two-seater like the Huracán or the 488, you are not so much climbing in as lowering yourself down. The technique: sit on the sill first, then swing your legs in. Trying to step in feet-first is how people end up awkward in front of an audience.
Once you are in, it feels snug rather than cramped — a cockpit built around one person. Adjust the seat and mirrors properly before you move. It matters more than in a normal car.
The first thing you notice is the width
Not the speed. The width.
These cars are noticeably wider than anything most people drive daily, and the front corners are further away than they feel from the seat. In a lane it is fine. The places it matters are narrow driveways, tight car parks and lane splits at roadworks.
The handover covers exactly this. Within a few kilometres your brain recalibrates and stops noticing.
Then the noise
Starting the car is the moment people grin. A supercar does not hum into life — it announces itself. The Huracán's V10 in particular fires with a bark that turns heads across a car park.
Then, a surprise: at normal speeds in the comfort or road mode, most of these cars are perfectly civilised. You can potter through South Melbourne traffic without drama. The noise is there when you ask for it.
The gearbox is easier than you think
People worry about this, and they should not. These cars use dual-clutch automatic gearboxes. Leave it in automatic and it drives like any automatic car. Paddles behind the steering wheel let you change gear yourself if you want to — most people try them once out of town and enjoy it.
The nose lift — use it
The front of a supercar sits very close to the ground. A button raises it a few centimetres for driveways, speed humps and steep car park ramps.
It is the most important thing you will learn at the handover. Approach driveways slowly and at an angle, lift the nose, and you will avoid the single most common way people scrape a car on their first hire.
The first time you open it up
This is the moment, and it is worth waiting for until you are out of the city on an open road.
What surprises people is not the top speed — you will not get anywhere near it legally — but the acceleration. A gap in traffic that would take a normal car several seconds to close simply disappears. You do not need to break any limit to feel it; a short squeeze from low speed is enough to understand why people pay for this.
Do it somewhere safe, straight and clear. The Yarra Valley roads are ideal — open, well-surfaced, long sight lines.
The part nobody mentions: the attention
You will be looked at. Constantly. People film you at traffic lights, wave from footpaths, and ask questions when you park. Children point.
Most people enjoy it more than they expect. A few find it slightly much. Either way, it is part of the experience — and the reason a supercar arriving at lunch feels like an event.
If you are nervous
Three honest suggestions:
- Start with an SUV. The Urus and the G63 give you supercar performance with a high, familiar driving position.
- Take the handover seriously. Ask every question. It is there for exactly this.
- Drive out early. Empty roads at 7:30am are the gentlest possible introduction.
And if you would rather not drive at all, chauffeured hire gives you the car without the wheel. Our guide to choosing between them helps decide.
By the end of the day
Almost everyone says the same thing when they bring the car back: they wish they had booked it for longer. That is the honest sign it was easier — and better — than they expected.
