Kicking Luxury Into High Gear

0

Chris Carel sold a telecommunications company in France several years back and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his true passion: driving fast.

Carel is the owner of Fast Toys Club, a Mid-City private car club that offers its members the opportunity to drive super-luxury, exotic sports coupes and even race cars.

But Carel doesn’t want his members to have all the fun. So on May 1, he’s leading a driving tour of Los Angeles – open to the public – that will take participants from Hollywood through Beverly Hills and finish with a lunch on Malibu’s Zuma Beach. And for those who worry this experience will be wasted in L.A. gridlock, Carel said he’s already thought of that.

“The idea was to discover L.A. from a different point of view and with a different perspective,” he said. “We wanted to show the best spots to drive and we also wanted to avoid the traffic areas. So we specifically designed this tour to avoid the most trafficked streets and roads.”

Participants on the tour will have the opportunity to drive six exotic cars, including the Lamborghini Huracan, which debuted last year and starts at $237,000. Carel is also bringing a Dodge Viper GTS, giving drivers a chance to carve Malibu’s canyon roads with some American muscle under the hood.

“We want to give them a little taste of what it is to be a Fast Toys member,” Carel said.

Fast Toys offers a range of membership plans, from $8,000 a year, which is good for 10 days in the club’s cars, to $120,000 annually for the right to drive an exotic car every day of the year. Members who sign up for one of the club’s three highest tiers – costing at least $50,000 annually – can drive the club’s Ferrari Enzo. Only 400 of the cars were made, and they routinely sell for more than $1 million.

While Carel’s been able to find enough car enthusiasts willing to pony up five or six figures to be able to steadily grow his club, he also says there’s a real market for those who just want a joy ride.

“Everybody wants to have a getaway,” he said.

– Matt Pressberg

No posts to display