Eric Nelson, founder and president of Precision Exotics, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM to talk about their work with the airshow.
The NAS Key West Southernmost Air Show Spectacular will be March 29 and 30 and Precision Exotics will be here with incredible cars.
Nelson said Precision Exotics is “a company that travels with the air show circuit, and we’ve been doing it about 10 years. We were here actually in 2023, never going to pass up an opportunity to come down to beautiful Key West. We bring a collection of exotic cars, and anyone 18 or older with a valid driver’s license can pick which car they want and take a rip down an active military runway.”
What cars will be here?
Nelson said, “We’ll have our Lamborghini Huracán EVO. We’ll have a 2022 Porsche GT three. We’re going to have a McLaren Arturo, the new hybrid version of McLarens. We’re going to have the new c8 Z06 Corvette. Then the last thing we bring is, we use it as our crew vehicle, but we also allow people to drive it, and they don’t think much of it until they hear it, see it. But it’s a Jeep Cherokee. It’s what called a track hawk and they come out of the box with just over 700 horsepower, ours is dialed in about 1000. It’s actually the fastest thing we have zero to 100 in the entire fleet. You can put your wife, the kids and groceries, everything, and outrun a Lamborghini. So it’s pretty interesting.”
How fast can these cars actually go?
Nelson said, “We advertise to the public that we do 150 plus, for the distances that we have because, I mean, let’s face it, going fast is fun, but stopping is important, so we need to have adequate stopping space. But you’ll see excess of 150 miles an hour, no matter which vehicle you choose.”
There will be a crew member with each driver.
Nelson said, “We don’t limit the cars and the reason for the crew member in there is basically to explain to you where to go on the airfield, because everybody on the crew is either current or ex pilot of some sort, aviation based trained. So it’s the speaking the language on the communications with the tower that actually tells us where to go and how to do it. That’s what we’re there for, really, to tell you where to go and when to hit it and when to hit the break and point you in the right direction. But yes, there’s always an instructor in the seat with you.”
How long could a ride last?
Nelson said, “Runway shots themselves are, let’s say, 60 seconds, but I mean, it’s the drive time to get out there, the whole experience itself entails about 15 minutes from signing up to doing the briefing, being in the car, you and your family can take some photos, then you do your run, you come back, and then you go off to watch the air show. So the fun doesn’t stop with us.”
People can also be a passenger in the vehicle if they don’t want to drive.
Nelson said, “18 and older with a valid driver’s license, you can choose to drive. Younger, or if you just prefer, you can ride and you’ll take the right seat while instructor does the driving.”
Nelson got involved with exotic cars at a pretty early age.
He said, “I was doing some racing back in the day in Italy, and then when I was a civilian in defense contracting, did that a little bit, and then started working with different exotic rental car companies, helping them finite their business and basically streamline them from a program management standpoint. It just turned into, I’m going to go do this myself, because I can figure it out and enjoy it. So that’s how it all started. We’ve met so many people in this industry. The air show industry, the airstream industry is a great family. We’ve met so many people. We have quite a few people that are there on the staff now. We’ve got two guys. One was a Blue Angel pilot, and he was the 765 pilot. We’ve got another guy that was a demo pilot for the tech demo team. We have a long list of people with impressive military backgrounds that come on and join the team and go out for a weekend and enjoy themselves.”
How do people sign up?
Nelson said, “Either one costs the same, and it’s a first come first serve basis. You can go online and go to our schedules page. It’s listed for $299 online, but please, please enter the discount code freedom, and that’ll take it down $100 to $199 and that’s the same price you’ll pay the day you show up, if you just walk up to our rig setup while we’re at the airfield there.”
For more information, click here: http://www.precisionexotics.com/