Car Lovers Pay $5K for a Spin

Car nuts are flying to Los Angeles and coughing up nearly $5,000 to drive a Porsche 997 Turbo. Why the numbing bill? Because Supercar Life, a fantasy camp, lets motorists spend all day driving a host of pricey cars at outrageous speeds. For many, the 140-mph thrill ride is too much. “I tossed my cookies,” one driver said. “But what an amazing car.”

Recent advances make the rides possible, Supercar Life says. High-performance transmissions can now be fitted with stability controls to make high speeds safer; they also run without stick shifts, reducing the risk of a spinout. “This simply wouldn't have been possible, technologically, just a few years ago,” a Supercar Life founder said. (More Porsche stories.)