Hinsdale Driver
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Photos by Marcello Rodarte
by mike o’connor
hree Hinsdale area residents ventured down to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet for Continental Autosports’ customer appreciation day on May 15. Dozens of Ferraris roared around the racetrack and prowled around the parking lot. Joel Weinberger, whose father founded Continental Motors, told Hinsdale Magazine why his dealership hosts this biannual event. “[Customer appreciation day] allows our enthusiastic customers to enjoy their cars in a motorsports environment, and offer them instruction if they need it, so they can really stretch the legs on their cars,” Weinberger said. “These are great performance cars that you can’t necessarily appreciate on the streets of Hinsdale, and that’s why it’s great to have a facility like Autobahn so nearby.” Pete Kavooras of Burr Ridge said Autobahn’s unique tracks are ideal for an event like Continental’s customer appreciation day. “Autobahn is the perfect venue for drivers like me who enjoy tracking these very special cars,” Kavooras said. “Some drivers like to test both themselves and their cars at high speeds in a safe, controlled environment.” And there certainly wasn’t a lack of appreciation at this event. After taking a few laps around the track, Hinsdale resident Rob Tonn stepped out of the bright red Ferrari California with a massive grin on his face.
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“What a car—it was unbelievable!” Tonn said. “The power, the handling—it was an easy car to drive, and a lot of fun. Pulling out onto a hot track with a dozen other highperformance cars coming up behind you was a little intimidating. But the California was so easy to drive, even very aggressively, that I felt comfortable behind the wheel immediately.” While these exotic cars are incredible to drive on the racetrack, there’s something that sets the new Ferraris apart from other sports cars like Lotus and Lamborghini: Ferraris are made to be more practical for everyday use. Joe Ghaben, a Hinsdale resident who owns a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider, told us about his car and why he bought it. “It’s a supercar, but it’s also a car you can drive on the street