Exotic automobiles are beautiful machines. They are also expensive, challenging to drive, and sometimes troublesome to operate. As a Ferrari-owning executive at Ford Motor Company, Torbin Fuller, now the CEO of Club Sportiva, reasoned that the growth of time sharing for yachts, vacation homes and aircraft meant that there would be a market for automobile time sharing as well. After all, according to Fuller, the typical exotic automobile is driven just fourteen days a year. And four years ago he left Ford to turn his vision into reality in the San Francisco Bay area - one of the world's most beautiful places to drive.
Today, Club Sportiva members share a dozen very interesting vehicles, including a Lotus Elise, Maserati Spyder, two Ferraris and an Aston Martin DB9 Volante. Each is available by the day for a predetermined number of points, which are earned from membership fees that start at $3,500 annually. The entry fee provides twelve days a year access to vehicles that cost less than $125,000. Fees for the most popular membership levels range from $7,500 to $25,000 annually, accommodating more useage and more expensive vehicles.
Those fees buy a high caliber user experience that may be better than exotic car ownership. The club is aimed at people (20% of the members are women) who appreciate cars rather than hard-core car geeks. So, as you might expect, the cars are impeccably maintained and supported with around the clock roadside service. Most of them are replaced every nine months, so the available experiences are always changing. And there are car fleets for travelling members in locations such as Las Vegas and Munich.
The Club Sportiva clubhouse is a garage full of original artworks, with lounges, a small dining area and conference facilities and when the members are not actually driving they enjoy weekly social activities ranging from poker nights and winemaker dinners to road rallies and charitable events. But, first and foremost, the club is about the cars. Torbin and I shared that DB9 while we talked, with the top open and the exhaust rumbling in the sunshine.
Where do I sign?
Friday, May 9, 2008
Lifestyle: Share Your Ride
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5 comments:
The Jaguar E-type is beautiful. Our Chief Information Officer bought his new in 1964 while serving in the US Air Force in Britain. It's parked right outside my window, although his is yellow, it is a spitting image of the photograph you have. I think I might have to go make him another offer on that car. I do it about once a week.
The equation for maintenance costs on an E-type is (your income)*110%.
This is the voice of experience speaking.
When I was in London several years ago there was a group doing the same thing, but the emphasis was less on the exotic and more on the unusual because none of the members wanted to be mistaken as footballers.
That said, I own two antique, exotic cars and they're the only ones I own. I can honestly say that it's soul-levelling to roll up on someone who is also in an unusual, sporty, British or Italian job who knows nothing about it beyond the driving controls.
I guess I'm one of those geeks, you're talking about but I'd say I'm more of a snob.
But nice Jag. I'm in the market for the coupe version...
Well, then, I'm glad to see the maintenance costs won't differ much from my XJ8.
It was great meeting Will for a jaunt in Club Sportiva's Aston Martin DB9 Volante. I will shortly have a post on our blog for those viewers who find sports cars an exciting accessory to your life!
To answer Scott's comment about some random bloke cruising about in a car he/she has no understanding or appreciation of, that is certainly not what Club Sportiva represents.
Our Club seeks like-minded individuals who do appreciate the cars and therefore treat them as their own. The resulting benefit is the cars are in immaculate condition and the fellow Members are the individuals you want to share time with because they are vetted prior to acceptance into the Club. Many Members already own a Porsche or a Ferrari and Club Sportiva provides them easy access to a Maserati, Bentley and Lamborghini they otherwise wouldn't actually want or need to own.
It is a fine line between appropriate exclusivity to gaining access to the keys of a multi-million dollar collection without snobbery, but we've managed to perfect the business over the past five years with great results. Thanks to all who visited www.clubsportiva.com.
Torbin Fuller
Founder of Club Sportiva
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