LET’S face it. It’s not every day that we have the opportunity to drive the best cars in the world.
Imagine sitting inside one of them, smelling its leather seats, pushing the start button and pressing the accelerator pedal to the floor. As the engine revs up and the car hits a surprising speed, a level of excitement sets in that makes you want more. This was precisely what I went through during the recent PGA Cars track day held at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga, where customers and select motoring media were given a unique driving experience with the new Audi and Porsche cars.
To facilitate the track day, PGA Cars hired top-caliber race drivers and instructors—George, Louis and Stefan Ramirez—who guided participants through two sets of exercises that demonstrated the cars’ performance and capabilities.
In the first activity, the Gymkhana, the group took the diminutive Audi A1 hatchback and the A3 sedan, which showed their maneuverability, acceleration and braking efficiency around an especially designed course.
The Audi A1 seemed endowed with lots of power as the car could easily get up to a full sprint even in the tight makeshift track laid out with U-turns demarcated by a small box lined with pylons that simulated a drive in the Metropolis.
While the A1 showed remarkable agility, the new Audi A3 sedan displayed a nice balance between athletic handling and excellent braking. This was shown when the participants launched the Audi A3 along a 500-meter stretch before executing an emergency braking maneuver at the end. The A3 allowed its driver to retain control despite the unsettling procedure it was put through.
As we ended the activities, PGA Cars made sure that everyone had a memorable weekend drive by allowing us to take all their cars, such as the three Audi A3 variants, Q3, Porsche Macan and the stunningly powerful Porsche Boxster on hot laps around the track.
With their German engineering and sophisticated designs, it was hard to determine which among the cars was the best.
If it’s about hitting full speed on the racetrack, one car stood out during the session—the Porsche Boxster, which is fitted with the same engine found in the Cayman. With an engine note that is simply to die for, the 2.7-liter flat-six engine with direct fuel injection cranks out 265 hp of power and 280 Nm of torque, thanks to VarioCam Plus, technology that widens the power band and improves low-end torque.
To know more about the Audi and Porsche cars, visit PGA Cars at 201 Edsa, Mandaluyong City.