Ferrari Classiche Academy

Just when you thought only modern Ferraris were for the track. Now, the Maranello-based exotic carmaker wants to bring you to their Fiorano test track in Modena to toss around some old school versions. Ferrari Classiche Academy has been created to teach drivers how to helm a vehicle with pure skill and no driver aids. Stability control? Traction control? Those are for sissies. The press release even states Classiche is to learn “techniques used to drive cars produced before electronics had entered the automotive world,” and therein lies the challenge. Cars like the venerable 308 series (Magnum, P.I.-style) and the oft-maligned, but still good, Mondial are part of the course, and they have been meticulously maintained for optimum performance. And yes, they all have mechanical gearboxes (manual transmissions). You’ll get serious education in the classroom, as well as track time with an instructor. The caveat is the fact that you have to be a current Ferrari owner, and the course costs $11K. Such is the price of learning a lost art in one of the Prancing Horse’s classics.