Topless in the east - or a rental car upgrade in a different way
"20 grade in November, thank you Volkswagen!"
Instead of freezing in the snow and cold, we were recently able to embark on a very sunny automotive self-experience trip with some surprises, contrasts and the known flat jokes. On Wikipedia you read about self-awareness: "The term self-awareness is on the one hand a popular scientific psychological expression for getting to know and reflecting on the experience and acting of oneself (self), especially in challenging situations ... "
In any case, of course, everything turned out differently than originally planned, but as is well known, only a genius masters creative chaos and growth only takes place through challenge. If one were to base our “MotorOli” project on this formula, FotoRalph and I would have already obtained our doctorate several times and our habilitation in the subject “Planning spontaneous actions - a contradiction in terms” with distinction and ass bomb. But we never lost the fun and that's the most important thing in life! We say driving fun and driving fun is (somehow) always included. That much is certain! And what doesn't fit is made to fit. Running!
“Runs” also happens to be the Facebook slogan of Motion Drive, a friendly, young car rental company headquartered in Magdeburg. But we are not talking about group C (= golf category) - rents, as some of us may imagine. Since it can be a little more "more". In some cases, a group C reservation at the rental company around the corner ideally leads to a so-called upgrade, i.e. the receipt of a larger vehicle category at the previously reserved small price. Incidentally, it often works well if you explicitly reserve "small car (= rental car class Mini, Economy or Compact) with automatic". It is rather rare and therefore you usually drive a correspondingly larger box from the yard. Siemens Indians and frequent drivers know immediately, but that's another topic.
In Motion Drive - very different - it starts, however, only where it stops with the vast majority of known car rental companies. The smallest category, so to speak, is a Porsche 911. Apart from that, you do not give in here with something as trivial as rental car classes anyway. Motion Drive rents luxury or sports cars. Should not be advertising and if it is perceived as such, then this is your problem. Of course, there are numerous landlords with exciting portfolios, including Sixt, Europcar, Auto Zitzmann or the agricultural machinery rental Dümpfelhuber. Motion Drive offered us a car in a very concrete way and therefore we were in contact with managing director Phillipp Müller. The Good has probably looked at the quiet village of our videos and said he had something for us. Shortly thereafter, he was already in our office and the chemistry was right.
Specifically, it was about a special ride in the new BMW i8, which can also be found in the fleet. The tag "Driving fun to drive yourself" seemed to me quite feasible for this story, because on the one hand we wanted to present a brand new driving fun device, but also to point out that YOU can also experience this driving pleasure for yourself. Who doesn't dream of simply being able to choose from the quartet of super sports cars and go for the full? Sure, that costs a few euros, but not nearly as much as buying or leasing. Sounds logical? It is!
Motion Drive offers an extremely interesting portfolio of the - I say carefully - popular super sports cars from the "normal" Porsche 911, Audi R8, Ferrari 458 to the Bugatti Veyron or, for example, the BMW i8 at 8 locations across Germany. Some of the vehicles come in different designs (coupé / convertible) and engines. A delivery is sometimes already included in the rental price. It's best to take a look yourself www.motion-drive-vermietung.de If you are interested, please refer to this article - maybe there will be a small discount under the keyword "MotorOli". If annoyed is hung up on the other end, then our story probably did not like 😉
The idea for Motion Drive
For auto geeks, the genesis and face behind the idea is certainly exciting: Phillipp Müller looks more like the boss's son - a likable young entrepreneur and petrolhead with clearly recognizable gasoline in his blood. But appearances are deceptive, HE is the boss. I mention this in a few bars because I find such enthusiasm coupled with entrepreneurial risk remarkable. Imagine the face of the house banker to whom someone in his twenties explains that he needs a not inconsiderable amount to buy super sports cars and to rent them out. Fortunately, Phillipp was able to provide a convincingly plausible reference. It all started with the classic desire to drive a Porsche. What every second business student with an almost original Ralph Lauren shirt and standing collar has on his wish list as the “Lifegoal” at 30 was simply too late for Petrolhead and mechanical engineering student Phillipp. “That has to happen sooner!” He thought and bought a Porsche 911 from the 996 series with a friend - at an unbeatable price. The whole thing in a somewhat over-motivated but only incomparably less enthusiastic Friday evening-party-we-buy-now-Porsche-spontaneous campaign. Not only the price was unbeatable, but also the list of defects, which the two had somehow overlooked in the heat of the moment and after a few strategically important beers. Well get it!
And it happened as it had to, because the supposed bargain initially turned out to be a complete dime-grave. I mean despite the "bargain" we are talking about a not insignificant amount. Not little at all for two students and far too much to destroy. But if life brings you lemons, you should ask for salt and tequila and throw a party - or at least make lemonade out of them. It was almost to be expected that the engine would give up its ghost directly on the transfer journey. At this point, some people would have checked out to Thailand completely exasperated in order to accept their exmatriculation at a full moon party and simply forget about their exmatriculation.
But the boys stayed with it and in the end the baby was gradually made fit again with a mechanic friend of hiss for little money. An overhauled exchange engine was found quickly and also a little cosmetics plus black foiling. The interested viewer was already presented with a quite handsome vehicle, which also caused a stir among friends and acquaintances. After all, a real Porsche! Various inquiries and money bids followed relatively quickly to be able to do a lap with the cool “11'er”. Gradually the car paid for itself in this way and suddenly even made a profit. That was the point at which it clicked and this reference probably also convinced the bank to give the Motion Drive concept the green light. Little by little, the fleet was increased and invested ...
Today - a few years later - Motion Drive is suitable for around 20 of its own super sports cars and has access to more than 150 other sports and luxury cars through partners. Customers include not only rich tourists from the Far East or the film star in the South of France, but also simple boys who share driving fun over the weekend and have a good time, for example in the Audi R8.
The business model
By the way, the business model of letting horny cars for fat money is easy on paper, because it involves a lot of administrative and insurance expenses. It should not be a secret that rental cars generally suffer disproportionately more than private cars. Above all, the costs for maintenance, insurance, maintenance and repair of super sports cars are proportional to the purchase price. From my point of view, Motion Drive does everything right here, because the cars are usually bought as well-kept used cars with few kilometers and maintained and maintained by their own subsidiary Motion Cars. This in-house workshop specializing in super sports cars is an indispensable part of the business model and thus keeps at least this extreme cost block in the frame. A pleasant side effect is that good is heard around and that motion cars meanwhile service and look after various other private super sports cars.
It is also extremely important to repel the cars at the right time, because the loss of value in rental super sports is - of course - partly also super sporty. Too many KM are bad, too little but also. Because only a car, which is used, brings revenue. Again, a special feature, because Motion Drive offers next to the rental also driving events and does everything to get the cars moving. Whether it's a guided sports car tour through the Alps, drift trainings that really get down to business or racetrack events - every single component is a thought-out part of the business model, ensuring entertainment and smiles among the participants as well as the necessary sales on Motion Drive. Who does not want to miss out on the racetrack with a super athlete or just drive right across the track? You can also book this on the page. The costs vary depending on the event and partly there are real last-minute bargains. Why am I writing this in such detail? Well, because I was able to convince myself of all this on site and the chemistry was just right for us and the boys. Who now thinks that we get money for it, I have to disappoint. If I find something good, then I write it free of charge and especially, because the team is young and refreshingly dynamic, it was worth this line to me. Above all - and that is the message of the story - you can experience it all yourself! Sure, that is partly money, but if you meet with a friend, it's only half the battle. And luckily, luck only doubles if you share it. You only live once and always think of the new price!
The Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder LP 560-4
Anyway, I could share this car rental experience with the FotoRalph and we tried our best to give a little the driving pleasure in our well-known way. As mentioned in the beginning, we should drive BMW i8, but unfortunately this was in the context of a warranty work in the workshop at BMW. As a replacement, we were spontaneously offered a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder LP 560-4. We take!
The bull has 560 horses, permanent four-wheel drive and lifts his max. Torque of 540 Nm at 6500 rpm. on the crankshaft. The top speed is 324 km / h. The acceleration 0-100 km / h gives the Italian manufacturer with 4,0 seconds - we measured 4,1 seconds, which could also have been due to the winter tires. But half an instant can be forgiven. Incidentally, the empty weight of the test car is approx. 1,6 tons. Thanks to the many extras, our Lambo clearly exceeds the 200.000 € mark. No art, is already the base price at round about 195.300 €.
Incidentally, the “LP” stands for “Longitudinale Posteriore”, that is, the motor in the longitudinal direction at the rear. Right, there is something behind us. 560 are - you guessed it - the horses, the 4 symbolizes the permanent (sporty rear-biased) all-wheel drive with viscous coupling, which delivers the power to the front or rear axle depending on the situation. A little tutoring on the subject Four-wheel drive and viscous coupling you find here. Lesson learned!
I personally like the Lambo very much. Firstly, because from my point of view it is a very emotional and shapely car, the V10 sounds great and, moreover, on this God-given 23-degree November day, nothing is better than cruising the world openly and listening to the wonderful orchestra of the V10 concert to listen to the rear of our still quite new mid-engine sports car. The Gallardo has been around since 2003 and its successor, the Huracán, has also recently appeared on the market as a coupé or roadster. It's been a while since my last Gallardo experience. Nevertheless, a Lambo is and remains a Lambo and, as a car spoiled person, is still a lot of fun. The shape is simply timeless and immediately makes it a real Lambo. The glowing orange was there like the icing on the "i" from GEIIIIL on this sunny November day. The car stands there like a charm and has just 19 tKm on the clock. "Just came back from a month's rental in the south of France." - tell me the boys. Also nice: just hang out on the Cote d´Azur and drive over to Monaco in the Gallardo Spyder to eat. Can be done!
We do it analogously and of course openly in and around Magdeburg. Anyone can do the south of France! For all those who weren't careful about geography or who took a nap: Magdeburg is in the east. New federal states. Solos and such. Not a big city like Munich, where everyone drives around in their leased wannabe Porsche and plays the casual. Magdeburg is easy. Not meant negatively, but related to the cars. Very - and this is deadly serious - sympathetic people and downright openness radiate towards you. You have to say that I come from the Nuremberg area and rather reserved the Franks Gladare natures. A smile with eye contact can sometimes cause complete confusion in the opposite. Here in Magdeburg, however, we have clearly noticed that people are more relaxed. You look into your eyes, you understand jokes and you smile back. Must also be mentioned explicitly and so we maybe crank the Magdeburg tourism a bit.
Open the door and enter. He is slim. Leather wherever you look. Great feel. I immediately feel right at home, but I also remember a bit of the Audi A4 3.0 TDI convertible that I once had. Speedometer, navigation system and a few switches leave no doubt about the close relationship with Audi. MQB is the keyword and means nothing less than "modular transverse construction kit". Explained for laypeople: For cost and strategic reasons, the vehicles of a group (also across brands) share various components and platforms. In our case, the Lambo shares certain parts with the first generation Audi R8 - e.g. engine, drive, etc. Thanks to the MQB, everything also fits in the Lambo and vice versa. No matter! At the push of a button, the fabric cap opens after what feels like 23 minutes. It's just a bit old school. But open is open. We breathe wonderful sunshine and can listen to the V10 inferno behind us.
Our Lambo has installed the sequentially automated second generation E-Gear. Specifically, this means that the driver Smart is spared similar XXL switching pauses. Today gear changes are smoother and faster, but the still relatively young Gallardo had a certain puristic charm as a result. The switching process is initiated via fixed aluminum paddles behind the steering wheel or, if desired, fully automated. The whole thing can then be sharpened by the driver via the “Sport” and “Corsa” levels. If you set the optional Corsa mode (track only actually), everything is trimmed to a maximum of riot. The flaps in the exhaust are on draft, all characteristics in addition to ESP protection on “BÄM” and the E-Gear hits the gears with such vehemence that you think the Gearbox is about to fly around your ears. You can see in the video how much the FotoRalph has to tense his neck muscles when you give the bull the spurs. In terms of sound, this not only ensures the driver, but above all the man behind and everyone who is within a radius of 2 kilometers, for standing hair on the back of the neck paired with goose bumps. I don't know which is better: the vulgar snorting between the gas every time you downshift or the roar when gasping. I find myself playing with the gears. Like a toddler pounding wildly on his toy organ and simply delighted with every note.
But you don't just stand out because of the sound. The appearance per se is already sufficient. Like walking around town with a full-grown bull instead of a white poodle. A Lambo per se is of course noticeable anyway - especially in Magdeburg. Especially in the color, in the weather and open, with us two weird birds in the cockpit. Fun? Oh yeah! This V10 is even fun in a traffic jam, because the soundscape is always unique and definitely not good. And yes, the streets in Magdeburg are sometimes really crap! It regularly feels like it is breaking up the Lambo. Actually, you should drive it permanently with an active lift function to protect it from nasty volcanic crater-like holes. But he does well. But we feel for him and kidnap him on the country road.
Beautiful avenues with long straight, crisp curves and clean paved roads. Here the bull feels comfortable. You do not even have to heat. On the contrary, in the normal mode of the automatic, he switches almost leisurely and unscrews his infernal sound discreetly. Knowing that he can whenever he has to. Despite the soft winter tires, it provides direct road contact and provides grip in every-day driving situation. Thanks to its limited slip differential with asymmetric locking action on the rear axle, you can also simply pull on the shift paddles once or twice and let it out of the curve despite slippery winter tires without the car surprising you. The Zwischengasgeotze is an indispensable part of the switching procedure and definitely recommended in sports or Corsa mode.
Vehement can tame the released bull only the own brake. The packs him namely with each 8 piston front and 4 behind neatly on the horns. The 365 x 34 mm steel discs in the front and 356 x 32 mm in the rear ensure deceleration and brake over-motivated toreros again. With optional ceramic plant it can even happen that the adhesive cream of the third party fails and the Beisserchen from inside the windscreen. But that does not matter, the part or full insurance covers glass damage and everything is better than winding around the approaching tree.
Yes, such days always go by way too fast. Hours feel like minutes in the space-Lambo continuum. The own food intake can ever be forgotten and slowed down you really only if the bull wants to be led to the feeding place to quench his animal thirst. Something between 15 and 30 liters he approves, depending on the fun foot position on 100 KM. But it does not matter, because he is worth every penny of fuel!
I could go on and on about the great day, driving behavior or countless technical details. Drag torques, agility, unsprung masses, or tendencies to oversteer or understeer ... I don't do that! Shouldn't there be a racetrack test and what is the point of the whole gray theory along with technical chatter? There are plenty of driving reports from the Gallardo and I've had the hard facts for breakfast 😉 The point is: just try it out yourself and have fun!
Anyone who has not had enough, despite bleeding eyes, can still watch our well-known video. Check it here!
In this sense and until the next automotive borderline experience. We stay tuned!
Your MotorOli & FotoRalph
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The original article is available here.