I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the team at Freedom Supercars, and they unveiled some very exciting news that has been in the works for about a year now. They were clearly psyched as they shared the exclusive news - are you ready? Freedom Supercars is expanding into Austin, Texas!
You can check out more on the Founding Member Offer Here
The Austin branch is set to launch Summer of 2021, just a few short months from now. I cannot wait to attend the grand opening launch party once the new clubhouse is complete, it will be a great way for members and invited guests to enjoy all the fancy new cars, crafted cocktails, and Hors d'oeuvres.
Marc Smith, President of Freedom Supercars, elaborated why Austin is a perfect market for expansion; It is a thriving city that has great driving roads, weather that is perfect for year-round driving, amazing landscapes, and it is home of the USA Formula 1 Grand Prix. When you put all that together, it makes Austin the perfect city to continue the club’s growth.
While Freedom Supercars will be new in Austin, they aren’t new to the supercar scene. They have over a decade of experience and I spent some time asking the team more about that.
History of Freedom Supercars
Diving into the club history, Smith explained the club was formed in 2009 for one reason, to revolutionize supercar ownership, and to provide members with carefree enjoyment of the supercar lifestyle. He said, “we wanted to bring people the opportunity to truly drive all the world’s greatest supercars without the hassles of ownership.” And not only does Freedom provide members with an array of supercars to choose from, they also offer a wide variety of epic bucket list driving adventures held across the globe.
Smith described their company as “market disrupters”, as they are breaking the mold of traditional ownership. He also added that the club is about more than just giving members the opportunity to drive nearly every supercar on the market, the club is about the experiences, the driving events, the member dinners, the networking, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and the memories never forgotten.
The Austin Team
Brining the club to ATX meant bringing along a great partner, and that is where Jason Galloway enters the picture. Galloway had an entrepreneurial career in Oil and Gas where he put together a substantial water delivery system in the Permian Basin right at the beginning of the “Frac Boom”, which he subsequently sold in 2018 for a hefty price. After taking some time off, playing a lot of golf, and spending some time with the family, he realized he wasn’t done yet and wanted to find the next adventure.
At this point, Jason had come across Marc Smith and Freedom Supercars in Houston, so he reached out to see about Freedom’s expansion plans in the Austin area. He loved the idea and thought it would be a fantastic way to access a collection of Supercars without the headaches of ownership. After a series of phone conversations and meetings, all the synergies were there and the rest is history.
Freedom Supercars is the perfect fit, as Jason told me he has always loved cars, or pretty much anything that goes really fast! He has a soft spot for American Muscle and the rumble of a big V8 and started looking into some exotics as well. Over the years he has built quite the collection with his customized Jeep wrangler, beautiful 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and several Shelby Mustangs. Jason left me with this quote: “Now I’m done working and finally doing something I love that doesn’t feel like work.”
Austin Supercar Collection
The team shared that the club would start with an impressive collection of supercars, so I pressed the issue because I had to know what marques they had their eye on. Being a supercar fanatic, I was jealous the second they gave me insight on their tantalizing lineup.
The Austin location will start their club with the new C8 Corvette, Aston Martin Vantage, McLaren 570s Spyder, Ferrari 488 Spider, and Lamborghini Aventador S. As if it weren’t good enough, they explained that they would quickly add to the lineup as the club grows and that members could be assured of an expanding lineup of ever-changing supercars to choose from.
Also, a sidenote the team pointed out was that members who sign up in Austin can also use supercars at the other Freedom Supercars locations, such as the Houston club that has 14 supercars available for members to drive. It’s like having an endless vending machine to choose supercars out of! I can’t wait to check them out in their new clubhouse.
Local Clubhouse in Austin
The Austin Clubhouse will be located in a new development less than 10 minutes away from Circuit of the Americas, and only minutes away from the airport. The space will boast an amazing showroom to showcase the supercars and host local events.
Jason was telling me the buildout will include almost 8,000sq feet of space where they will have a private bar, members lounge, racing simulators, conference room, and areas to perfectly detail the supercars. To top off the cake, the furniture to fill the room comes from names you might recognize: Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and more!
Upcoming Events in Austin
As we were talking about the clubhouse, I started to think that this would be an awesome place to hold events. The team told me they planed it for just that. They plan to hold member events there quite often, and to make the space available to their customers as well to host anything from birthdays, celebrations, or even corporate events.
There is nothing like having a craft cocktail and being able to stare at supercars all night, it’s truly a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else.
I told the team I would gladly cover any of their events, just to get a chance to experience some of the unique evenings they host for members such as: private dinners, poker tournaments, wine tastings, cigars and whiskey pairings, F1 watch parties and more.
Check out some of their upcoming events in Austin:
SEPTEMBER 23RD
Member’s Karting at COTA
We hit the track for some good old-fashioned competition. Members race head-to-head in high-speed go carts that reach 55mph - First one across the finish line wins!
OCTOBER 7TH
James Bond Casino Night
Join us for a James Bond theme party before the new movie is released! Try your hand at the casino, sip on a martini, and check out the signature 007 Aston Martin on display.
OCTOBER 24TH
F1 Watch Party
Join us at the clubhouse to have a drink and watch the US Grand Prix! As the season is coming to an end, racers are fighting for podium and we will have it on the big screen.
NOVEMBER 10TH
Members Drive & Dine
Members will get to pilot the cars out on the town for a night of fun. After cruising for a bit, we will have a great meal and enjoying the company of the other members.
NOVEMBER 18TH
Botox and Bubbles
Who say’s men get to have all the fun? Bring your significant other for a night of Botox and Bubbles where the Med Spa will be providing treatments and Champagne.
DECEMBER 10TH
Annual Christmas Party
We will host our big Holiday Party where we will have live music, pictures by the Christmas Tree, specialty cocktails, holiday gifts, and much more!
Ultimate Driving Tours
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, the guys from Freedom Supercars showed me videos from some of their Ultimate Driving Tours! To explain it in short: Think about driving a dozen supercars on the world’s best roads over a weeklong vacation in Europe. You spend time touring the countryside and staying in the most luxurious chateaus and even castles. And in the evenings, you enjoy breathtaking experiences wining and dining with 5 course Michelin star restaurants. This particular trip winds up in Monaco where guests spend the weekend on a 120ft mega-yacht watching the Grand Prix F1 race!
And the fun doesn’t end there, as the bucket list trips range from an Australian driving tour, to ice-driving on replica F1 circuits carved into a frozen lake in Iceland, to a Supercar Tour D’Italia, to spending a weekend at the world-renowned Goodwood Festival of Speed. So many choices… so little time!
Freedom Supercars - USA Expansion
Being a member sounds great to be honest, but I wanted to dive back in with Marc on what is next for Freedom Supercars. It seems like this could really be a huge success.
Marc said that they have plans to open 30 locations around the U.S. over the next 5 years. They plan to put over a decade of experience and planning into a proven system in these cities to create a network of clubhouses so that members can travel anywhere and drive any supercar they want with membership.
Could you imagine being a member? You could drive a Ferrari in California, cruise a Lamborghini in New York, enjoy a McLaren in Florida and much, much more with just one membership… that is something that no car owner can do.
Smith also touched on bringing these bucket list trips into the states and providing opportunities to see the F1 race from a private suite, watch the Indy 500 from pit row, drive a racecar at Daytona, and more.
Founding Membership in ATX
It is incredible that a membership like this exists, and for less than the cost of just owning one supercar. I asked the guys at Freedom Supercars how people can get involved.
They told me that they are now accepting Founding Members in the Austin location. You can sign up with them today and get tons of bonus driving and perks that will never be offered again, and those perks continue year after year for as long as you remain a member – plus all the bragging rights!
It sounds like a truly phenomenal deal for the early adapters of this supercar club. They basically have you fill out the application when joining, but your billing doesn’t start until this summer when they launch with the vehicles. There are only a limited number of these special memberships available, so if you are interested in reserving a spot as a Founding Member you better call fast!
You can check out more on the Founding Member Offer Here