You don't see a lot of Algonquin's fall colours when you're watching the red and gold foliage blur by the windshield of a convertible Ferrari F430 Spider that hits 313 kilometres an hour when the foot's to the floor.
For those who love fast cars, but can't get their heads or wallets around the idea of dropping $337,000 on a Ferrari, there's a new way to kick up the leaves - without worrying about keeping a finicky beast purring happily.
Henry Ford brought cars to the masses. Former Xerox executive Eric Siebert brings exotic cars to Canada's mass affluent.
In April, Mr. Siebert founded the Toronto-based car club The Private Collection ( ThePrivateCollection.ca ) by purchasing a red Ferrari, a $304,000 slate grey Lamborghini Gallardo and a black Porsche Cayman S.
For a $4,995 initiation fee and $30,995 in annual dues, the 10 current members - all male entrepreneur and CEO types - bought the opportunity to test the speed limit any time they wish.
"Our members are enthusiasts who want the experience of driving a performance car, but are willing to forgo the pride in ownership to avoid the hassles," Mr. Siebert said. "Even the uber-rich realize there are drawbacks to owning a car you rarely drive."
It's not just the joy of lightning runs down empty country roads that attracts enthusiasts.
One member, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, confesses: "When you pull up at a stop light in a Ferrari and the guy in the pickup truck next to you looks over, and smiles and nods, you do feel like you're king of the world."
Members of Private Collection get a defined number of days in their car of choice each year, with the sports cars dropped off and picked up at home or office.
All maintenance is taken care of, no small consideration for cars prone to $20,000 tune-ups and $400 tires, and there are no Private Client logos on the car to indicate the driver is not the sole owner.
"Several of our members used to own high-end cars," Mr. Siebert says. "Now, they say they love the driving, and they're glad they don't own the problems."
Where exactly does one run a Lamborghini that tops out at 315 km/h, besides a strip of Highway 60 in Algonquin Park? Although Mr. Siebert says monster-sized speeding tickets are forbidden, that doesn't stop members from testing the European manufacturers' claims on speed and acceleration.
"It's virtually impossible not to gun it," admits the club member. "We're all conscious of the rules of the road, but sometimes, you just have to push it."
One member proudly steered the Ferrari into the parking lot of his high-school reunion. Others use the Italian stallions to spice up nights out with their wives - the hour-long jaunt to Michael Stadtlander's Eigensinn Farm restaurant is a popular outing.
Members also take the cars out for the run to and from cottage country, and for short business trips. Family members aren't always happy riding shotgun. One member said his teenage son "complains that the passenger seat just isn't that comfortable for anything more than a hour."
Mr. Siebert says he's been contacted by a number of wives considering giving memberships as gifts. "Considering the wear and tear this can save a relationship, I consider what we do a form of marriage therapy," he says, pointing out that the costs of owning can put a strain on all but the biggest household budgets.
The Private Collection concept came from retired British race-car driver Damon Hill, who founded a club in London known as P1 that's now home to 33 different sports-car models, including four different types of Ferrari.
There are versions of this company in California, Arizona and New York, but Private Collection is the first Canadian stab at shared ownership of exotic autos.
As the weather turns cold, Mr. Siebert is lining up two new cars with four-wheel drive - a Bentley and a Porsche Carrera 4.
The Ferrari and Lamborghini will spend snowy days locked in a garage, far from salt and ice, waiting for the day when someone wants to put the top down and take in the spring flowers at three times the speed limit.
Iconic Rides
James Bond's 1963 Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger
The British spy has driven everything from BMW to Ford to Lotus, but the quintessential Bond was Sean Connery, and the best of his cars was the prototype Aston Martin with machine guns and the passenger ejector seat.
Steve McQueen's 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso
Considered the first super car, it was a gift to the oh-so-cool actor from his first wife. After the star of The Great Escape and Bullitt passed in 1980, the car made its way into the hands of a restorer, who fixed it up and sold it in August for $2.3-million (U.S.).
Tom Cruise's 1979 Porsche 928 in Risky Business
Cruise's breakout movie saw the silver German speedster take a bath in Lake Michigan. Cruise went on to become a part-time race-car driver, while the front-engine Porsche design never really caught on with enthusiasts, who prefer their engines in the back.
Michael J. Fox's DeLorean DMC-12 in Back to the Future
It was under-powered and slow, but hey, it could travel through time, so who's going to quibble? The stainless steel exterior skin and gull-wing doors made this a collector's classic — about 6,500 of the 9,000 DeLoreans made in the 1980s are still on the roads.
Tom Selleck's Ferrari 308 GTS in Magnum, P.I.
Three different models of the red Italian stallion had starring roles in the television series' eight-year run. Selleck later complained that the racing clutch was stiff. Ingrate.
