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I did the AMG Driving Academy in Austin TX a week ago. Drove 9 cars. WOW! (w/pics)
Fun and scary day in Austin TX at the AMG Driving Academy from 715am - 630pm. My buddy told me about this event, my dealer never mentioned it, which is disappointing. I finally did it April 27th with great reservations since I'm scared of driving fast on a track. I'm not that confident about my high speed abilities. I made it through the day, just barely. We got to drive nearly all the AMG models like the GTR (basically a race car for the street - we got up to 160 mph), GTS, C43, C 63S, SL 63, E 63S, SLC 43 (a new model), CLA 45, and probably more I forgot about. Circuit of the Americas is a grade 1 FIA-specification 3.4-mile motor racing track and facilities. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, the IndyCar Classic, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of The Americas.
I can't say I did great, others were faster than me, but I stayed on the track and did OK in the slalom which was times, with prizes. My friends wanted to go back and do it again next year... not for me! Mine was free since I bought a car within a year, and they paid the $1895 per person though I think they got like a 10% discount or something like that.
OMG... SLS's! They were just for show. We didn't drive them of course. LOVE these. Oh yay... If I wasn't such a Porsche guy, I'd trade my 911 Turbo S in for a GTR. Sweet mother mercy. LOVES me some GTR. Instruction and... product info. (sales) Goodies you'd win if you won the slalom. Amazing food. My new little friends ;o). YUMMY food. This was the easy part of the day. I may look like I'm having fun but I was terrified. Skidpad My gorgeous instructor. Yay! It's over and I didn't die and ruin the car. YAY!.
Fun times! We went to Laguna Seca and we are going to COTA for advanced...
I am actually surprised that you didn't like the SL on the track. It's clearly not a track car (like all others besides the AMG GT models) but the SL is a blast when you push it hard. It has a loose rear but I personally enjoyed the rear wheel cars much better than 4WD's. GTR feels like it's glued to the track at any speed
The surprise for me the SLC43. What a quick and fun car to drive with a nice soundtrack.
Fun times! We went to Laguna Seca and we are going to COTA for advanced...
I am actually surprised that you didn't like the SL on the track. It's clearly not a track car (like all others besides the AMG GT models) but the SL is a blast when you push it hard. It has a loose rear but I personally enjoyed the rear wheel cars much better than 4WD's. GTR feels like it's glued to the track at any speed
The surprise for me the SLC43. What a quick and fun car to drive with a nice soundtrack.
Agreed, the SLC43 was our favorite car other than the GTR and GTS. It handled SO WELL and was the first car we drove. The C43 felt like an SUV after driving the tiny, adorable, low to the ground and amazing handling SLC43. The S63 was the unanimously "not loved" car for driving on a track though we all loved the way it looked while it was standing still.
Looking at the cars, talking about the cars, the in between time was my favorite time. Driving them super fast on the track? Not my cup of tea. I'm sure most of my friends wouldn't have been comfortable doing this either, they're not even car people.
The real draw for me was to go to Austin! I've never been there. Amazing place.
Coopers BBQ SO good... Best doughnuts ever. MASSIVE donuts for us. As big as my head Finished this meal of BBQ and Donuts for dessert with an extra dessert - Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream at Amy's Oh yeah. Waiting for the bats to come out The 1.5 million bats finally came out at 10pm, 50 minutes late. It was pitch black and hard to see but still cool. This is earlier in the evening. I didn't even know Austin was the state capital of Texas. We took an amazing self guided tour. I signed some new legislature in the governors reception office.
Oh wait a minute... found one of the actual instructor. Nice teeth! She may have been saying something for 10 minutes but honestly, none of the guys I spoke with including myself have any idea what it was. I just stared in awe. She had so much fabulous MB AMG product knowledge and could answer any questions about AMG cars new and old, it was just amazing.
Last edited by stever500; May 7, 2019 at 10:07 PM.
Great write up. The AMG driving academy is a great time. My wife and I did it at Laguna Seca back in 2014. I wanted to do Austin when we got the E63, but couldn't get it scheduled due being too busy. Much like you enjoyed the SLC43, at the time I enjoyed the SLK55 on the track.
Oh wait a minute... found one of the actual instructor. Nice teeth! She may have been saying something for 10 minutes but honestly, none of the guys I spoke with including myself have any idea what it was. I just stared in awe. She had so much fabulous MB AMG product knowledge and could answer any questions about AMG cars new and old, it was just amazing.
I know how you feel about driving fast around a track. I attended a Jaguar event several years ago where they had XF-R's and XK-R's. It was more of a ride-n-drive and we took two laps of the track in Monticello, NY. The first lap, the customer drove with a race car driver riding as passenger. At the end of the lap, we switched places and the race car driver drove. Needless to say, the second lap took about half the time as the first and the driver couldn't have looked more relaxed, while I'm holding on for dear life. Fun experience though.
Looks and sounds like you had a great time. I just got back from the 2 day Advanced class at Road Atlanta. What a blast. Our team took 1st place in the team competition Autocross event and I placed second of all attendees in the Autocross event. Road Atlanta is a great track to take the AMG GT R to the 140+mph range on the back straight away at Road Atlanta. I also did a Taxi Ride/Hot Lap with Reini (the head of AMG Driving Academy Worldwide)—man was that a blast. He showed his professional racing experience in that hot lap while I was tossed around like a rag doll. Can’t wait for the Pro and Pro plus classes.
Last edited by MTrauman; May 24, 2019 at 01:49 PM.
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