In a place where Lamborghinis and Ferraris are commonplace, one local driving school in the Principality has taken driver education to new heights by introducing a Porsche 911 Carrera to its training fleet.
Monaco Bonne Conduite, founded by Paul Croesi, launched this innovative service on 31st March, becoming the first driving school in the Principality to offer lessons in a high-performance sports car.
“Over the nearly five years since we opened, I noticed that many young people who passed their driving test in the morning using our Volkswagen Polos would return in the afternoon driving much more powerful vehicles, like Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches,” Croesi explains during an exclusive interview with Monaco Life.
This observation inspired him to come up with a method that would better equip students with the skills they would need for the vehicles they might actually drive after passing their test.
“It’s about preparing students during their learning phase for driving powerful vehicles like a Porsche, which they might drive in the following weeks or months,” he continues.
At €159 per hour – approximately three times the cost of a standard lesson – the Porsche training isn’t about maximising profit, says Croesi.
“I didn’t really calculate the profitability before buying it. It was more of a pleasure purchase,” he admits. “I really wanted to maximise road safety and respond to a need. This has never been done before, so it’s a bit of an experiment.”
When asked why he chose the Porsche 911 specifically, Croesi notes its reliability and practicality.
“This Porsche model is very reliable mechanically. These are sturdy vehicles,” he explains, pointing to the importance of durability for a training car. “Also, I needed a four-seater so that during examinations, when the inspector sits in front, I can sit in the back. That’s a requirement for driving tests.”
The choice of car is having an impact on his students too.
“It’s really emotional for them,” he says. “They’re very happy and excited. There’s a little stress, which is normal.”
Croesi is also keen to stress that luxury doesn’t mean leniency.
“Just because we’re driving a Porsche doesn’t mean we’ll be driving at 200 km/h through Monaco,” he tells Monaco Life. “We respect speed limits.”
The school has attracted unique cases, such as a woman whose husband owns a similar car: “They’re coming from Marseille to have her take lessons with us in the Porsche because he knows that as soon as she gets her licence, she’ll be driving their Porsche!”
Risks when transitioning to luxury cars
Perhaps most importantly, Croesi highlights the critical errors new drivers make when transitioning to high-performance vehicles.
“The biggest issue is losing the sense of speed, which happens easily in these types of cars,” he explains. “Drivers might overestimate curves and accelerate too early, losing control of the vehicle. With less powerful cars, even if you accelerate hard, the vehicle takes time to respond. With a car like this, if you accelerate hard, the car responds immediately. So, if you’re in a curve, you can lose control – that’s when accidents happen.”
Looking to the future, Croesi’s ambitions extend beyond the Porsche.
“Of course, we’re in Monaco. If there’s one place in the world where this concept could work, it’s here – and perhaps a few other destinations like Dubai,” he says. “It’s already quite surprising that this has never been done in the Principality before. If this succeeds and we could one day have a Ferrari or a Lamborghini as training vehicles, that would be fabulous, that would be fantastic.”
In a nation where luxury is the norm, Monaco Bonne Conduite is ensuring that with great horsepower comes great responsibility, preparing the next generation of drivers for the realities of the Principality’s supercar-lined streets.
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