Valentine's Day Exotic Car Rental in Orange County

Valentine's Day 2027 falls on a Sunday, and Presidents' Day follows on Monday, February 15. That turns the holiday into a three day weekend. The best Valentine's Day exotic car rental for it is a convertible you keep from Saturday to Monday. In Orange County, that usually means a Rolls Royce Dawn for the dinner or a Ferrari for the coast.

A three day rental also takes 10% off the daily rate. You spend Saturday night at dinner and Sunday on the coast road. Monday is for one last drive before the car goes back. Here is how each car fits the weekend.

Why Valentine's weekend runs three days in 2027

Presidents' Day is the third Monday in February. In 2027 that Monday is February 15, the day after Valentine's Day. So the holiday has a free day on each side of it.

That changes how you use the car. A Saturday dinner and a Sunday drive no longer fight over the same evening. You can make the arrival one night and drive the coast the next day.

On Saturday at 7, a black Dawn stops at the valet stand of a harbor restaurant in Newport Beach. The roof is down, and people on the street can see the red seats. The valet opens the passenger door first. The doors are hinged at the back, so your date steps out standing and facing forward.

The same Sunday is busy for another reason. Super Bowl LXI is played that day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Holiday weekends are already among the first dates to book up, so I'd book as soon as the dinner reservation is set.

The Rolls Royce Dawn for the dinner arrival

The Rolls Royce Dawn is a four seat convertible with a 6.6 liter twin turbo V12. It makes 563 horsepower and reaches 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Those numbers matter less on this weekend than the roof does.

The Dawn's roof is made of six layers of cloth. It folds under a wood deck in about 20 seconds. It can fold while the car is moving at up to about 30 mph. So you can leave the restaurant with the roof up and lower it at the first light on Coast Highway.

With the roof up, the cabin stays quieter than most hardtop sedans. That helps if the night turns cool after dinner. All four seats get the open sky when the roof is down, so a second couple can ride along.

There is no rev counter in a Dawn. A Power Reserve gauge shows how much of the engine you are not using. At a steady cruise on Pacific Coast Highway, it sits in the 90s. The car leans a little in corners on purpose. It is built for a slow pace.

Chauffeur service is available on request on the Rolls Royces. Ask for it when you book if the dinner includes wine. If there is drinking, there is a chauffeur or a sober driver for the ride home.

A Ferrari for the drive down the coast

Sunday is for driving, and a Ferrari suits that day better than a Rolls Royce. The Ferrari Portofino in this post is burgundy with a tan cabin. Its 591 horsepower V8 sits in front of you, and the car has four seats. The folding hardtop drops in about 14 seconds.

Start in Corona del Mar, where East Coast Highway runs about a mile through the village. Then drive south past Crystal Cove toward Laguna Beach with the roof down. The steering is light, so a passenger who is nervous about fast cars relaxes quickly. The ride stays soft over the rough patches of Pacific Coast Highway.

On the way back, stop at Lookout Point or Inspiration Point above the state beach. Both are a few minutes from the village. The harbor entrance sits below you, and the burgundy paint looks warmer as the sun gets low.

The Ferrari Roma is the coupe for the same day. It has a fixed roof, four seats and a 612 horsepower V8 that reaches 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. Ferrari styled it around a design language it calls La Nuova Dolce Vita. The Roma in this post is red with a black cabin.

In Comfort mode, the Roma's exhaust stays quiet in Irvine traffic. Switch to Sport on Newport Coast Drive and a valve opens for a deeper sound. The road climbs past the greens at Pelican Hill in a few minutes. The steering is quick, so the first turn arrives sooner than you expect.

The S-Class for a quiet night in Los Angeles

Some couples want the night to be about the dinner, not the car. The Mercedes-Benz S580 is the car for that night. From outside it looks like an ordinary long black sedan. Inside, the cabin is black and red, and your date sees the color when the door opens.

Air suspension keeps the cabin calm over rough pavement. Rear axle steering turns the back wheels opposite the front ones at low speed. On a tight U-turn, the long sedan turns like a much smaller car.

The S580 also suits a Valentine's dinner in Los Angeles. Drive Sunset Boulevard through the hotel row in Beverly Hills at dusk. On the freeway back to Orange County, the cabin is quiet enough to talk without raising your voice.

What a Valentine's Day exotic car rental costs

Each car has its own daily rate, deposit and extra mile rate. These numbers come from each car's own listing.

• Rolls Royce Dawn, black over red. $1,295 a day, $2,000 deposit, $5 per extra mile.
• Ferrari Portofino, burgundy over tan. $895 a day, $1,000 deposit, $4 per extra mile.
• Ferrari Roma, red over black. $695 a day, $1,000 deposit, $4 per extra mile.
• Mercedes-Benz S580, black over black and red. $395 a day, $1,000 deposit, $3 per extra mile.

Rentals of 1 to 2 days are at the full daily rate. A rental of 3 to 4 days takes 10% off. The discount comes from the length of the rental, and you don't have to ask for it.

Three days in the black Dawn come to $3,885 before the discount. After the 10% comes off, the rental is $3,496.50. Delivery is quoted separately by address.

The deposit is a hold on your card, not a charge. It is released after the car comes back in the condition it left. Every day includes 100 miles, and the miles pool across the rental. So a three day weekend gives you 300 miles to use however you like.

On Monday morning, the Dawn waits in the hotel garage with the roof up. The trunk is small, so two weekend bags fill it. You take one last slow loop along the harbor before the car goes back.

Before you get the keys

Every renter must be 18 or older with a valid driver's license. You also need full coverage insurance in your own name. A larger deposit may apply if you are under 25.

Your policy has to cover a rental car that isn't listed on it. That coverage is called non-owner vehicle coverage. Before the rental, we call your insurance carrier with an agent on a recorded line and confirm it. If your date will drive too, they go on the contract first and pass the same check.

The car can be delivered to your home, your hotel or the curb at John Wayne Airport. Overnight, it stays with the hotel valet or in the hotel garage, never on the street. The keys stay with you.

A week or two of notice covers most dates. Holiday weekends go first, and this one is a holiday weekend. I can't promise you the weather in February. If Sunday turns cold, the Dawn's roof goes back up in about 20 seconds and the cabin stays quiet.

In 2027, Valentine's Day gives you three days instead of one night. The car does the most for you when you keep it for all three.