Owning a Ferrari: The ultimate driving experience

Owning a Ferrari means so much more than bragging rights and turning heads. As a Ferrari owner, you get access to an endless list of privileges, but more importantly, you're officially granted access to the Ferrari family.

Once that Prancing Horse is tucked away in the garage there are different tiers of experiences available to owners. The first is similar to what I got to experience in Seville, Spain, whereby owners indulge in a track day. These aren't restricted to local events, rather happen all around the world.

The day I was treated to was a media event, and therefore, entailed a few extra sprinkles including a Formula One driver, Ferrari engineers and a brand new Ferrari.

But the sequence of events wasn't too far off from what an owner gets to experience with their car at a track day.

Owning a high performance car, the best thing you can do is take it off road to a place where you can really tap into its dynamic capabilities – a racetrack.

At my track day I was fortunate enough to get a hot lap with former F1 driver, Marc Gené. We then sat alongside an instructor on the shorter track before taking to the 4.43km circuit where we drove three laps with a pace car ahead of us – all conducted in the brand new Ferrari 296 GTB – a plug-in hybrid supercar, with 610kW and 740Nm on tap.

Ferrari owners will generally bring a car they currently own for a spin around the track and can make it a family day out.

The next tier for clients is known as the Ferrari Tour which is a journey of up to five days, typically in Italy and can be tailored to suit the clients needs. An event like this usually only ever involves 10 to 20 cars.

Finally, there's the pinnacle of the Ferrari family. This is by invitation only from Ferrari headquarters whereby 100 cars set off to a premium destination somewhere in the world. One location Ferrari has visited in the past includes the port of Capri which cars usually aren't able to access, unless you're Ferrari of course.

But you need to earn your invite which all depends on the status inside the family, such as the number of years you've been a client, what’s in your garage or how classic or iconic the Ferrari is that you own.

Along with these elaborate experiences there are additional experiences available for those who purchase the coveted badge. If you're up for it, you can enrol yourself in what's known as Corsa Pilota – a four-part track education initiative offered to any Prancing Horse owner.

The program begins with Sport – giving owners the introduction to track racing. The track education moves up to Advanced, which offers data analysis and coaching.

Evolution is the third step preparing the driver for the fourth and final step known as Challenge. Reaching this level, owners are considered offical race car drivers and earn a licence to compete all around the world.

I got a taste of these elements on my track day, and while I wasn't racing, I was offered mentoring from Gené. This included a post-lap session taking me through my telemetry. All data was taken into consideration so I knew where I could improve. By the end of the day I cracked 260km/h down the straight which was just 21km/h off Gené, so not too shabby.

After an experience like this it's easy to see why people want to be a part of the Ferrari family. It's not just about owning badge, it's about the premium hospitality and countless opportunities, and being Ferrari, theses experiences are superior. Take it from me, after my day out I'm certain the Prancing Horse would be my luxury brand of choice.