A test driver, often referred to as a test and reserve driver, is a racing driver who is employed by a formula one team to be involved in the development and testing of a particular f1 car but is not involved in the actual f1 race. Built in 2002, the enzo ferrari named after the famed founder is a sports car with a 12 cylinder engine and with a top speed of 218 mph. If becoming a test driver for a company like ferrari or jaguar is. Being a test driver for the auto industry is not a career for everyone. Become a test driver for car magazines a dream job for. We are always looking for ambitious people, be they career starters or experiences profiles, and who are passionate about ferrari and automotive excellence. Owners of prancing horse supercars can compete in races worldwide even in a formula one racing car as we discovered at a ferrari event.
At the goodwood festival of speed, i spoke to ferrari s commercial director enrico galliera about the companys corse clienti programme that allows customers to drive its f1 cars and even to. Put prototype cars through their paces to test how well they perform. Unless you are already part of the automotive industry, it is best to approach. A car like purosangue will be taller and have a higher center of gravity than ferraris lowslung sports cars. Meet the team who are already there and have unloaded the cars from. You dont need a masters degree to become a test car driver, but it helps if you have a love for cars and excellent mechanical knowhow. Professional test driver askmen become a better man. He doesnt drive cars as they come off the assembly line. Ive worked as a carmagazine test driver since 1999 and i still get looks of astonishment when i tell people what i do for a living. Ferrari will test a mule car with 18inch wheels just over one week before 2020 formula 1 preseason begins, as part of pirellis tyre development programme. Automotive test drivers assess vehicle performance for.
Enzo ferrari disagreed with this change in policy and was finally. Getting a job like this seems like it would be as hard as winning the lottery. Car test drivers or road test drivers are paid by car manufacturers like ferrari, porsche, and bmw to test their vehicles by driving them around the companys private track. The finn signed a two year contract with what is now alfa romeo racing, and in 2020 hell be racing alongside former ferrari test driver antonio giovinazzi. These are new models that ferrari engineers and designers are working on or cars with new or redesigned parts that are being tested. Being a test driver for lamborghini or any other car company, isnt what you seem to be imagining. Ferrari knows that the best individual and team performance is only achieved if employees feel they are in the right place, the right environment. Look at what really makes up a publication or web site and figure out what it is they need most. A day in the life of a ferrari test driver top gear. The 2016 ferrari california t is the rodney dangerfield of.
Ferrari test drives in maranello italy, road and modena. At this point, the competition isnt just ferrari customers, but legitimate race car drivers in all makes and models. Test car drivers typically work for major auto manufacturers, drive at high speeds for several hours a day, and traverse obstacle courses that. New ferrari people, such as mini cooper chief designer frank stephenson, the director of ferrarimaserati group design since august 2002, are busy fashioning the next generation of hero cars. As such, earning an undergraduate degree in automotive technology will significantly enhance your chances of landing this job. Behind the wheel with ferraris top test driver cnn. Take into consideration the tips below and you could be on your way to a high revved career as an automotive test driver. But the truth is, you dont have to be working for big, glossy sportscar magazines to. Drivers need to be able to follow instruction from engineers and need a great deal of physical and mental stamina. Through sheer dint of character he succeeded and eventually gave birth to the most formidable racing machines ever produced. As a rule, children dont dream of working in offices. The game is a departure from the semisimulation open world sandboxgaming style seen on test drive unlimited and test drive unlimited 2, and returns to closed circuit racing that was last used.
How to become a race car driver with pictures wikihow. The reality is it might spend 8 hours on an oval driving at 30mph. These hardto get positions can involve maneuvering prototype ferraris on. Sad to report, a wrecking ball called the ferrari f40 has just put big crows. The test drives can last as little as 30 minutes to approx 2 hours. Since 2003, the italian supercar maker and racing team has permitted a small group of people to buy f1 cars from the most recent models, driven by current ferrari driver kimi raikkonen. Few people possess the driving skills, vehicle knowledge and experience for such a job. At the goodwood festival of speed, i spoke to ferraris commercial director enrico galliera about the companys corse clienti programme that allows customers to drive its f1 cars and even to. What does it take to become a car test driver at lamborghini. We have high expectations, for individuals with confirmed skills as well as the ability and ambition.
Imagine for a moment, if you will, that your job meant getting paid to testdrive some of the worlds latest and greatest automobiles from ferraris to porsches, and from bmws to mercedes. Instead, they dream of fighting fires, flying fighter planes, walking on the moon, and driving fast cars around. My sisters friend was a test driver for koenigseg, or however the company spells its ridiculous name, and she was a dartmouth grad in mechanical engineering, and had previously raced. Enzo ferraris greatest desire was to become a racecar driver.
The scuderia ferrari team was founded by enzo ferrari on 16 november 1929 and became the racing team of alfa romeo, building and racing alfa romeo cars. In 1938, alfa romeo management made the decision to reenter racing under its own name, establishing the alfa corse organisation, which absorbed what had been scuderia ferrari. It didnt yet bear his name, but the traces of the ferrari cars of the future were already there. The 2016 ferrari california t is the rodney dangerfield of ferraris. A magazine like hot rod is always looking for wellwritten, cleanly. Apply to driver mechanic, cdl test driver, vehicle dynamic engineer and more. Car test driver salary and career advice chegg careermatch. Only one model survives it is probably the most valuable car in the world, and is owned by a collector who lives near maranello. Companies such as bmw, porsche and ferrari need people to test out their cars before going to market. Wanting to impress, the school sent bmw their top talent, including jason.
In this page you can reserve your supercar test drives, these are held in maranello just in front of the ferrari museum. Imagine for a moment, if you will, that your job meant getting paid to testdrive some of the worlds latest and greatest automobiles from ferraris to porsches. I left it in sport mode for most of my driving but experimented with the track mode as well. Childhood dreams often become much more complicated and intricate as we age. Test drivers are often placed as reserve drivers in case one of the racing drivers of the team is injured or unable to participate in the race allowing the test.
Apply to owner operator driver, delivery driver, laborer and more. Making it to that higher end means youll be able to afford a luxury car of your own. We also have lamborghini test drives, and the possibility to drive the ferrari f430 on the modena track. Ten years ago the automotive technology trade school jason attended had just started a relationship with bmw. Ferrari racing legends is a racing video game developed by slightly mad studios and published by rombax games under license from atari for playstation 3, xbox 360 and microsoft windows. Ferraris top road car test drivers play pivotal roles in creating the. Ferraris road cars have moved the needle so high in terms of performance and driving fun that the cali looks like the. The data i can look at after the test drive i want to get into the car without any preconceptions and with my objectives clear in my head.
If you want to test drive for very elite companies, ie. Test car driving, however, can be a hard field to break in to. Ferrari has all kinds of ways that you can adjust the 488 pista to change its driving style. Here at car and driver, rule 1 for test drivers is this. Then becoming a test driver or a motoring journalist are your best options. To create this article, 19 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. In order to succeed here, it takes a great deal of commitment, money and. Hard work, determination, and a bit of good timing is the answer. Test car drivers typically work for major auto manufacturers, drive at high speeds for several hours a day, and traverse obstacle courses that require expert driving ability and quick reflexes. I guess youre thinking about hooning around in expensive, fast, cars.