An ideal gift for a 18 year old petrol head

Most 18-year olds with a current driving licence want to do one thing, and that’s drive. From the moment they’ve passed the test, getting out on the road is the ultimate freedom. More attractive still is the prospect of getting in a car and burning rubber. Only one problem for the average petrol head…putting the pedal to the metal in the way that they want is rarely road legal.

For this reason, when your child, nephew, niece or family friend is approaching 18, and you want to get the ideal gift, there is a simple, cost effective, and incredibly enjoyable solution…get them a driving experience.

Many people will misinterpret this as the age-old excursion whereby the customer visits a track, gets in a specially commissioned car and drives around with an instructor to guide them. Track days are an even more attractive option in that the customer actually gets to bring their own car to the track! For a new and young driver approaching 18, there are probably fewer enticing options than taking their new pride and joy to a track where the usual rules of the road no longer apply. Without having to wonder ‘what if’, the young petrol head will know exactly how their own car feels when it is put to the test and they are allowed to go hell for leather around a track in a fun, exciting and, most of all, safe environment.

But the benefits don’t just stop at the fact that they are using their own car to recreate something that looks like it is straight out of a film scene. As well as turning their car into a temporary hot rod, other gift options for a driver approaching 18 include being able to drive a super car around one of many specially designed UK circuits, as well as other experiences, such as extreme dodgems. If your soon to be adult wants to bring their friends along, they can go head to head in specially designed cars and spin around taking swipes at each other in a safe and controlled environment. Or, if they have a penchant for the more dramatic, rather than speeding around or driving at their best friends, they can learn to drift with a fully qualified instructor, followed by several laps as a passenger with a fully qualified drift racer.

There are many gift options for an 18 year old who is into cars. A new car is expensive, and often will be outdated by the time their next birthday comes around. A pair of furry dice make an excellent small gift. Car stereo systems are often so disparate in quality that two equally priced units can return very different results. A track day comes in many different formats, and each one allows any budding driver to get their road based thrills, whether their preference is for speed, impact or the theatrical. And each one is safe and, more importantly, something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.