“Relax behind the wheel”: an auto expert named the mistakes of drivers of crashing expensive sports cars

“Driving such a car requires fine movements”

Moscow is discussing another accident involving an expensive sports car: on Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, a traditional red Ferrari crashed into a tree and became stuck in a flowerbed. Fortunately, no other road users were injured, and the married couple in the car escaped without serious injuries. But the car will require serious repairs. Similar and more severe accidents with sports cars on city streets occur regularly. MK found out why they happen.

On the evening of September 6 in Moscow there was light rain in places, the surface of the roadway could be wet – and this is the first important circumstance that could become a factor in the accident. The cool weather (due to which the tires “didn’t warm up,” as online commentators have already written) could also have an effect. But almost the same incident happened a month and a half ago, on July 20 of this year, at the beginning of the Street of 1905: another red Ferrari, accelerating after turning from the embankment, ended up on the sidewalk with damage. And then the weather was certainly dry and much warmer.

This means that the main cause of the accident is not in external conditions, but in driving sports cars. According to extreme driving instructor Nikolai Nemchinsky, most models in this class place increased demands on drivers and do not forgive negligence.

“Both now and a month and a half ago, the driver of a mid-engine Ferrari lost control, this is not accidental,” says the expert. – Yes, it is believed that the mid-engine layout improves handling, but the car remains essentially rear-wheel drive, and the 600 horsepower engine easily sends it into a skid. Driving such a car requires fine movements of the steering wheel – and this is incompatible with relaxed driving for pleasure.

For an imposing “cruise” through the city streets, according to the instructor, you can choose cars that are no less spectacular, but calmer than sports cars. In particular, convertibles and roadsters usually have a calm character (despite the fact that most of them cannot be called slow and uninteresting to drive). For pleasure riding on public roads, coupes from any major manufacturer are also suitable – but not sports cars, which have too much thrust-to-weight ratio for this.

“American powerful coupes – the so-called “muscle cars” – can also play a bad joke on a relaxed driver,” the MK interlocutor emphasized. – Their turning ability is not so sharp, but it is relatively easy to overdose on the gas pedal and go into a skid.

These cars, according to Nemchinsky, are even more dangerous on the roads than Italian sports cars – if only because they are somewhat cheaper. “Nowadays, a lot of “Americans” restored after a fire, flood or accident are imported through Armenia, our young enthusiasts buy it, but the skills remain the same as in the “Zhiguli”, says the expert. “You need to take at least five classes with an instructor, and then practice properly on a race track or a deserted area.”

The main skills for driving a powerful car, according to MK’s interlocutor, are precise throttle control to prevent the rear wheels from involuntarily skidding, and gentle, exquisite steering (for the same purpose). The limit of what is acceptable can only be felt during training away from other cars and pedestrians, the expert emphasized.