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Driving experiences across the country tend to run in three formats. Self-drive puts you behind the wheel of a V8, a supercar or a classic car. Hot laps flip that around, with a professional driver at the wheel while you ride shotgun. Trike and motorcycle tours trade the track for a guided sightseeing ride instead.
Self-drive puts you behind the wheel of a V8, a supercar or a classic car like a Mustang or Jaguar, either on a racetrack with an instructor coaching you over a headset or on the open road for a full day. Hot laps flip that around: a professional driver takes the wheel at speeds up to 200km/h while you ride as a passenger, no licence required. Trike and motorcycle tours are a third, calmer format again, a guided sightseeing ride through a city or wine region rather than a track experience.
Sydney Motorsport Park hosts the state's self-drive and hot laps range, including the V8 Race Car Driving 6 Laps and the Ferrari, Lotus and Lamborghini Drive across three supercars. For something slower, the 30-Minute Sydney Harbour Chopper Trike Tour crosses the Harbour Bridge with Opera House views, and the 2-Day Orange Wine and Food Mustang Trike Tour pairs trike transport with cellar-door tastings at Swinging Bridge and Printhie Wines. Classic car fans can hire a 1968 Jaguar E-Type for a full day with 200km of driving included.
Sandown International Raceway runs Victoria's supercar drives, including the Cavallo Ferrari Supercar Drive in a Ferrari Modena 360 and the Lotus Elise drive, both with a professional in-car coach and an electronic lap counter tracking every lap from pit to pit. For something more practical, the Advanced Control Driver Training Course covers emergency braking and evasive lane changes over a full day, while the Defensive Driving Course runs at Sandown Raceway for L and P-plate drivers.
In Brisbane, hire a Classic 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible for a full day, or see the city's landmarks aboard a Harley Davidson tour. On the Gold Coast, the Harley Davidson Ride covers the coastline's attractions in an hour, and on the Sunshine Coast, the 4WD Introductory Course gives one-on-one tuition from an internationally accredited 4WD master trainer for anyone new to driving off-road.
Perth's self-drive range includes a full day behind the wheel of a 1966 Mustang Coupe or a 1969 Mustang Convertible, both with 200km of driving included. For something off-road, the Can-Am Maverick X3 Extreme combines eight drive laps with one professional hot lap. Further north, the Broome Trike Explorer Tour rides the length of Cable Beach past 130-million-year-old dinosaur footprints.
Mallala Motorsport Park runs the Adelaide V8 Drive and Front Seat Hot Laps, combining eight self-drive laps with two hot laps alongside a professional driver. In the Barossa Valley, trike tours run past boutique wineries and Maggie Beer's Farm Shop, and the Ford Mustang wine tour lets you pick your own stops with a local Barossa driver.
Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin runs the V8 Race Car Driving Experience for six self-drive laps, with a qualified instructor communicating over an in-vehicle headset throughout. For the passenger seat, the V8 Front Seat Hot Laps Ride pairs you with a professional race driver. For something calmer, the Coastal Sunset Luxury Trike Ride covers Fannie Bay, Nightcliff Foreshore and Mindil Beach at golden hour.
A driving experience gives someone a story they get to tell, not just an object they own. For the person who's always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a V8 or feel a hot lap from the front seat, it's a gift built around something they'd never book for themselves. A RedBalloon gift voucher lets them pick the exact experience, format and state that suits them, from a full self-drive track day to a shorter guided trike tour.
A driving experience puts you behind the wheel, controlling the car for a set number of laps or a full day, usually in a V8, supercar or classic car. A hot laps ride puts a professional driver in control instead, with you riding as a passenger at full speed.
The V8 Race Car Driving Experience at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin includes six drive laps, a race suit and helmet, a pre-drive safety briefing, and a professional instructor who talks you through every corner over an in-car headset for the full session. Inclusions vary a little by product and location, so check the specific listing for exact laps and gear.
It depends on the format. Self-drive experiences generally require a current driver's licence, and some, like the Adelaide V8 Drive, specifically require a P-plate licence or above. Classic car hire experiences typically require a clean licence history with no more than a handful of driving offences. Hot laps, trike tours and motorcycle rides don't require a licence at all, since a professional driver stays in control the whole time.
It varies widely by format and location. Track-based driving and hot laps experiences generally cap participants around 130kg to 140kg, though some passenger rides run lower limits around 115kg to 120kg. Minimum ages range from as young as 10 for a supervised passenger seat up to 25 for some classic car hire, since insurers set stricter limits on rarer vehicles. Always check the specific listing before booking.
No, track-based driving and hot laps experiences generally aren't suitable during pregnancy, or for anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the session. This restriction applies across self-drive and passenger formats and is set by the operator for safety reasons rather than being specific to one circuit or vehicle.
Yes, it's one of the categories RedBalloon lists specifically for Father's Day, alongside birthdays and general gifts for someone who's always dreamed of driving something faster. A voucher works especially well here since it lets the recipient pick the track, the car and the state themselves.
A single hot laps ride or short trike tour can run as little as 30 minutes to an hour, while a full self-drive track session generally takes one to four hours once briefing and track time are included. Full-day classic car hire and multi-day wine touring experiences sit at the longer end.
If the appeal is the adrenaline rather than the wheel itself, aerobatic flights trade four wheels for a plane doing loops and rolls, while bungee jumping and canyoning and caving take the same intensity to a cliff face or a gorge instead of a track. For something calmer but still memorable, go-karting is worth a look too.