Speed Vegas Is The Best Vegas
Racing Porsches at Speed Vegas is so much better than the regular version of Las Vegas. Don’t get me wrong. There is fun to be had in the city of sin outside a car. Taking in the local wildlife at Fremont Street, for example. But during a recent long weekend to the Nevada desert with my best buddy growing up, I leaned as hard as possible into the automotive aspects of Vegas and it turns out, they are many.
This trip was decided on a whim, a sort of halfway meeting point between New Hampshire and Washington State. As I later realized, cartography is not my strong suit. Fortunately, cheap flights and hotels are a good starting point for a knockout guys' trip. We stayed at the Golden Nugget for maximum vintage Vegas vibes, drank obscenely priced bloody marys by the pool, and rode the transparent water slide through the aquarium. Turns out, you can’t see shit.
Oh, we had plenty of typical Vegas fun. Brad Garrett’s wildly raunchy comedy club. The Strip. Many drinks served in Big Gulp-sized tureens. 99 cent souvenir shops. Street performers, cover bands, guys dressed like gorillas, and ladies with giant feathers tied to their waists.
And so on and so forth. I even won 15 bucks at a craps table! Though the two of us were equally befuddled by the digital circus that is apparently what qualifies as gambling these days. Yeah, I’m not a gambler. I’m a car guy, and while Vegas is known for its adult-themed diversions, I was there to take in Vegas’ choicest automotive experiences.
Exotics Racing: Las Vegas
Though an F1 race was not in the cards during this trip to Vegas, racing Porsche Cayman GT4s at Speed Vegas certainly was. For $250, you can slide into the GT4’s seat and rip it around a 1.3-mile twisty track for 5 laps. 50 bucks a lap seemed a reasonable way to test out a car I’ve always wanted to wheel.
Those familiar with Exotics Racing: Las Vegas, the outfit behind the fun, will know that you can rent exotica like the 488 Challenge Evo, 911 GT2 RS, and Huracan STO. It’s true, and while tempting, I’m not made of money bro. Plus, in my extra mediocre opinion, the Cayman GT4 has that perfect blend of otherworldly handling and visceral sounds that I was in seek of. At least, that’s what Car and Driver always says.
The other side of this coin is that I once rented a 981-gen Boxster S for a California weekend wedding trip, and it was sublime. So the opportunity to strap into a harder-edged version of this mid-engined dream car was impossible to resist. I was also aiming to avoid flinging a 600-ish horsepower Lambo into the desert beyond the track were I to, say, sneeze. Look, I can drive, but Mario Andretti I am not.
Gearing Up For Speed
Speed Vegas is a well-oiled operation, and they take the process seriously. But in the most fun way possible. It all starts with a pre-race brief, a video, and some verbal guidance on what to expect. Next, groups of 3 get into a Cayenne Coupe driven by one of the many expert-level racers on staff. Lap 1 is a pleasant jaunt around the circuit, pointing out apexes, describing the line, chuckling nervously about not screwing up when you get behind the wheel, etc.
Before heading into Lap 2, the cool-as-a-cucumber driver asked if the passengers would be ok with increasing the speed a bit. To which we all agreed - I mean, this is Speed Vegas after all - and then dropped our collective jaws in stunned silence as the Cayenne squatted hard and positively blasted through the next lap. Expressing my sentiments of feeling like the SUV was ready to roll over, the driver assured us that wouldn’t happen. He was right and it was amazing.
A Canary Yellow Cayman GT4
Next up, getting behind the wheel of my canary yellow Cayman GT4 with an instructor in the passenger seat. Considering you’re on the track with 4 or 5 other wannabe Fittipaldis, all of whom are surely frothing at the mouth like myself, this is understandable. My guy, Dan from New Hampshire, was easy-going, friendly, and truly helpful. He also had a passenger-side chicken brake, like when I took driving lessons 20-odd years ago, in case I chose to enter the Spazz Out Zone.
Listening to his insight on where to clip the apexes, where to floor it, and where to stand on the brakes, I had a blast. Five laps go fast, so do yourself a favor and take Speed Vegas up on their discounted offer to add more hot laps when you get there. And though the sound of those Ferraris and Lambos at WOT down the straight was intoxicating, I absolutely recommend the Cayman GT4. Nimble, fast, and possessing its own glorious soundtrack, this is a car for the drivers.
Per The Experts
Don’t believe me? Here are a few choice nugs about the wonder that awaits you in Porsche’s Cayman GT4 along with the tastiest specs.
The engine noise, this is what an exotic car costing three times as much should sound like. Thunderous, guttural, startling and snarling. -Motor Trend
The Cayman GT4 is a 414-hp distillation of the happiness that we thought driving would bring. -Car and Driver
2021 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Specs
Naturally aspirated mid-mounted 4.0L flat-6
414 horsepower @ 7,6000 rpm
317 lb-ft of torque @ 5,500 rpm
7-speed dual-clutch automatic
Rear-wheel drive
0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds
8,000-rpm redline
P.S. Drifting Ride-Along
The drifting ride-along at Exotics Racing is an absolute banana factory of lunacy. Loud, righteous, and led by a pro drifter, it is the Dodge Charger Hellcat as the gods of gasoline intended. Just don’t eat beforehand…