What cars have you driven only one time–but never again?

1967 Porsche 911S factory rallye car - had lightened flyweel, Weber carbs, Minilights with Goodyear Blue Streaks. I was 16 and just got my drivers license, was driving with my Dad in the passenger seat, and managed to kill the car at least 3 times trying to take off from stop signs on hilly roads. Talk about being too nervous to enjoy an experience!

1955 Porsche 550A Spyder, freshly restored - incredibly nimble, but just too fragile feeling and valuable to really enjoy driving.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, originally owned by Luigi Chinetti. Will never forget the glorious sound of that motor!

1913 Mercer Raceabout - Ken Purdy was absolutely right to call it America's first real sports car. A complete hoot to actually be able to drift an antique car!

I bought a restored a 1965 Shelby Gt350 and drove it once around a race track and parked it

just awful compared to the european cars I grew up with, plenty of power but slack handling and brakes and steering   NOT FOR ME

A Ferrari 275 GTB in Nevada and shifting when passing a guy at 100 MPH 

My 18 yo daughter was a wild driver, so I decided to attend a Skip Barber high performance driving school with her, hopefully to scare her a little. After a day of learning skid control, emergency braking, and crash avoidance in Dodge Neons and Dakotas, students had a time trial competition around the small race track in a VIPER!! When I was driving I remember the instructor yelling at me:

"Floor it! Push HARDER!! This isn't YOUR car!!!!"  
 

I won. ; )

My 18 yo daughter was a wild driver, so I decided to attend a Skip Barber high performance driving school with her, hopefully to scare her a little. After a day of learning skid control, emergency braking, and crash avoidance in Dodge Neons and Dakotas, students had a time trial competition around the small race track in a VIPER!! When I was driving I remember the instructor yelling at me:

"Floor it! Push HARDER!! This isn't YOUR car!!!!"  
 

I won. ; )

My 18 yo daughter was a wild driver, so I decided to attend a Skip Barber high performance driving school with her, hopefully to scare her a little. After a day of learning skid control, emergency braking, and crash avoidance in Dodge Neons and Dakotas, students had a time trial competition around the small race track in a VIPER!! When I was driving I remember the instructor yelling at me:

"Floor it! Push HARDER!! This isn't YOUR car!!!!"  
 

I won. ; )

Morgan +8

MG ZA Magnette with a 302 ford - holy crap

Lamborghini Muira - at 18 yrs old

Cord 812

With Edgar Rohr through the streets of Manassas, VA

1907 Detroit Electric

1909 Orient Buckboard

1933 Rohr - 1 of 1 

53 Jag XK120 FHC. 

 69 GTX 440-6 pack, four speed..

73 Little Red Express.

65 Buick Electra convertible 455, four speed. 

97 Toyota Carina five speed, right hand drive (rental in Britain). Surprisingly fun car.

Comments on all the one-time drives could go on for pages so mostly just the car names.

Exotics:  Ferrari 275 GTB, Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari 430 Scud, Lamborghini Muira, Lamborghini LP550, 1966 Ford GT40 (LeMans backup car), Cosworth Ford Econobox, Shelby Mustang GT350R, 428 Shelby Cobra, Pantera with Boss 366 motor, Lotus Elan 26R, 1970 Mustang Boss 302 (Factory TransAm car), Mercedes Gull Wing, Dodge Viper, Mallock MK32.

Not so Exotic:  Austin Healy 3000, Bugeye Sprite, Triumph Spitfire (race car), Porsche 914-6, Nissan GTR, Alfa 2600, Argentinian Falcon Sprint, Lotus Esprit, Porsche Taycan.

Most exotic would be the 250 GTO but that was just gently around the block.  Most thrilling would be the 430 Scud and GT40 drives which were multiple laps on a race track.

What a fun trip down memory lane.  Let's see, Ferrari 308, Corvette C5, 240Z with a few mods, Turbo Trans-Am, Fiat X 1/9 - test drive with the top off and saleswoman aboard, I went to shift into 3rd and grabbed her knee!  OOPS!  Car was too much fun!  Honorable Mention - I was an intern at the Chevy Tech Center and got to watch a frame-up build of a C4 prototype in the summer of 1980.  Purple show car with BBS mags.  Thought I was in heaven.

In reply to Formulabob :

Autocorrect won't let me correctly name the Cosworth Ford car.  Wonder who programmed Econobox into the function?  A very unhappy owner, I guess.

As a mechanic's helper at a British Dealership, I was fortunate to drive a BRG '74 Jaguar XKE 4 speed roadster top down on a beautiful sunny day to an upolstery shop several miles down the road. Wish I could afford one now.

The Bugeye Sprite that I spent 10 years restoring. Drove it to the safety inspection station and home and that was the last drive.

1959 Lotus Elite

My dad bought it as a non-running project while my mom was pregnant with me. It was always around during my childhood, following us for several moves, and dad rebuilt/restored everything mechanical in stages as time allowed. He really got cranking on it while I was away in college, and I got to drive it once while I was back home for a visit. I don't remember if I was still in school or recently graduated and out on my own. The car was very fun and engaging in the way a lightweight vintage Lotus tends to be! 

Shortly after the turn of the millennium, he sold it to someone who took it back apart to start the bodywork/interior part of the restoration, and as far as I know, it is still a work in progress! 
 

My second AE86 in the background, up on jackstands in dad's shop, taking advantage of his space and expertise as I installed some upgrades.

Lady was selling her 1973 Datsun 240Z and my brother was interested and we both test drove it.  I was smitten - figure 1988 or 1989? Bought a Datsun roadster after that test drive.  

Thirty five years later I get a 1972 Z and I'm hoping to go again this summer.  

My first job out of the Navy in '91 was a dealership.  Chevy/Caddy/Lexus/Sterling/Rolls Royce.  I was a QC inspector and general help like customer rides to/from dealership.

I learned to drive a manual on a brand new Geo Tracker.  I learned quick after they tried to get me to bring a Vette off an incline ramp (dealership was basically in a parking garage type of space downtown New Orleans.)  I decided I needed to learn.

Got to drive limo's, hearses, 4 door work trucks, a Rolls Royce once (some sedan), a ZR-1 Vette they said "customer complains it vibrates at 90".

I drove a semi around the lot at an autocross once, they had rented it for something & we were on a break.  Figured I'd never get a chance again.

And someone let me try their Lotus Elise a few years ago to see if I actually wanted one.  (But I might be getting more experience with that sample soon...)

Lamborghini Gallardo coupe at a Dream Drive Exotics event.  At least I can say I drove a Lambo.  But love my MINI Cooper S.

A friends prepared Nissan 350Z during an AutoX event.  Great fun to drive a well prepared car on R-comp tires.

jeffrey vogel said:

I bought a restored a 1965 Shelby Gt350 and drove it once around a race track and parked it

just awful compared to the european cars I grew up with, plenty of power but slack handling and brakes and steering   NOT FOR ME

My uncle bought new 1965 car #156 and all my life since I was a teenager I wanted to drive it but was never given the opportunity.  I wonder how I'd feel if I got to?  

Two years prior to them selling I made an offer to buy it - I'm not sure how many retirement funds I'd have to cash in........

Test drove one of these:  

Sadly I had to sell a car I owned to buy the Maserati and by the time I did that the Ghibli had gone.

tree37mini said:

Lamborghini Gallardo coupe at a Dream Drive Exotics event.  At least I can say I drove a Lambo.  But love my MINI Cooper S

Oh yeah, forgot about the Lamborghini Gallardo, probably same event.  $99 for like 4-6 runs around a 30sec AX course at a horse race track parking lot.  Same thing, I can say I drove a Lambo even if they wouldn't let me do the shifting.

NOHOME said:

The Bugeye Sprite that I spent 10 years restoring. Drove it to the safety inspection station and home and that was the last drive.

 

 

I'm sorry if I missed something but why was that the last drive?

Two one-time drives I can recall...barely in the case of the 300SL competition version I drove around a few blocks in Panama City, FL in the mid 50's while a fighter pilot at Tyndall AFB. The foreign car dealer, (from Berkleys to Ferraris) had it temporaily. They asked if I wanted to drive it so I did, but caustiously. As I recall it was silver, maybe unpainted alloy, with a belly pan to 'aero' the underside. The other was about '98 in a Superformance Cobra with the big engine. Drove it several miles around the Cincinatti suberbs,  nearly did a wheelie which was really scary.

NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:

NOHOME said:

The Bugeye Sprite that I spent 10 years restoring. Drove it to the safety inspection station and home and that was the last drive.

 

 

I'm sorry if I missed something but why was that the last drive?

Caused I figured the original owner might get more enjoyment out of it than I would. So not having changed the ownership, I gave her the car she got for her 20th birthday back on her 82nd?  She got a lot of drives in it.

Pete