'After they amputated my leg, I kept thinking: How the hell am I going to drive my Ferrari 330 GT?' said Daniel Reyes of Santa Monica, California. He eventually found some parts that assisted disabled drivers. - Washington Post

SANTA MONICA, Calif:

Daniel Reyes had spent most of his life speed riding motorcycles and driving high-performance automobiles. So it was the cruelest irony when he was standing on a Los Angeles street corner in 1999 and was struck by an out-of-control Jeep Wrangler.

"Let me tell you what happened,'' said Reyes, an irrepressible businessman, who lost the lower part of his right leg in the accident. "I wasn't even crossing the street. I was just standing on the corner. Then this girl in a Jeep Wrangler hits a bus. Her Wrangler bounces off the bus and pins me against a lamppost. What can I say? It was a good day for everybody!''

Driving his beloved Ferrari

He laughs at what most normal people would consider a tragedy. But the 47-year-old is, in his own words, "nowhere near normal". "I'm weird,'' he said. "After they amputated my leg, I kept thinking: How the hell am I going to drive my Ferrari 330 GT?''

He owns a 1967 Ferrari 330 GT with a five-speed manual transmission and a tricky clutch, which is operated with the left foot. But his doctors figured that, with half of his right leg gone, he wouldn't be able to push the accelerator. That he wouldn't be able to use his left foot to operate the accelerator and the clutch. That he wouldn't be able to drive his beloved Ferrari, period.

"They told me to get a car with an automatic transmission and be happy with that,'' Reyes said. "That made me angry. I didn't want them telling me what I could or couldn't drive. I wanted to drive my Ferrari!''

He ignored the advice of his doctors and the pleadings of his family and launched an intensive search for a device to help him get behind the wheel of his 330 GT. In 2004, after years of being told that he was seeking the impossible, Reyes discovered Guido Simplex, a company in Rome that specialises in developing components to assist drivers with disabilities.

Free to Drive

The Italian company's motto is 'Free to Drive'', Reyes liked that. But he, especially liked Guido Simplex's array of button clutch mechanisms that allow disabled drivers to operate high-performance cars at speed, including in track and road races.

Reyes liked Guido Simplex so much that he not only bought the needed components for his Ferrari, but he also wrangled a deal to become the exclusive supplier and installer of Guido Simplex devices in the United States.

Today, he runs Redi Auto Sport from his office on Ocean Avenue, California. I visited the company on a sun-blessed California weekend to get a first-hand look ... and drive.

The place is humming with activity. Disabled drivers from all over The United States and Canada are putting in orders for equipment, priced from about US$2,000 to US$10,000 depending on the components ordered, to help get them back behind the wheels of their Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar and Mazda Miata/MX-5 sports cars.

Three samples - a Mazda Miata, Mustang GT, and Jaguar S-Type - were available when I dropped in. Reyes was in a generous mood. He allowed me to get behind the wheel of all three with the instructional assistance of his marketing manager, Veronica Verve.

I goofed up right away by using my left foot to operate the clutch in the Miata. "You're cheating,'' Verve said. "You've got to learn to trust the hand-assist controls.'' I was embarrassed into obedience and attention.

Disability Test Drive

The clutch control on the Miata was an aluminium lever on the front of the shifter knob. I gripped the knob gently and used my fingers to depress the lever. As I moved the lever, the clutch pedal moved with it. If I pressed the lever all the way down, the clutch pedal went to the floor. But it returned to position when I released the lever. Verve said that was analogous to using my left foot on the clutch. She spoke kindly, although I'm sure she was scared, especially when I stalled the Miata several times in mid-traffic.

But within an hour, I was a pro at clutching and shifting with one hand. Acceleration was easy enough. It involved depressing and releasing a ring beneath the steering wheel to control speed. A hand brake on the right side of the steering wheel stopped the car safely.

Advanced hand-control systems on the Jaguar S-Type with an automatic transmission were even easier to use. I asked Verve if that meant Reyes was getting soft, abandoning his pursuit of high performance cars for disabled drivers in favour of something more mainstream and, perhaps, more lucrative.

She said that wasn't the case.

"We realise that the Guido Simplex technology can also help older drivers with diabetes or other conditions that might limit their driving ability,'' she said.

I suggested that we all go to lunch, which yielded another surprise.

While eating seafood and gazing at the Pacific Ocean, Reyes announced that he wanted to stage a race for disabled drivers. "Wouldn't that be the coolest thing?'' he asked.

Apparently, the people at NASCAR think so. They are helping Reyes and his company put on a race for disabled drivers - who will be running against able-bodied drivers - at the Irwindale Speedway in California, on April 12. They are calling it the Redi Auto Track Challenge 2007.

"You'll come, won't you?'' Reyes asked.

Heck, yes. I wouldn't miss that one for anything.