Apparently, golf communities aren’t quite exclusive enough for Naples anymore. Now we need a country club where the golf carts have 700 horsepower.

Meet the proposed Hyper Club, a 542-acre private motorsports community planned for eastern Collier County near I-75 and DeSoto Boulevard South. And before somebody starts picturing NASCAR fans shotgunning beers in the parking lot, that’s not exactly what developers John DeAngelis and Bruce Bond are proposing.

This is luxury Collier County, folks. Think Ferraris, vehicle condos, fine dining and pickleball — because apparently even people driving McLarens eventually have to argue about whether the ball landed in the kitchen.

A Country Club for Cars
The proposal would redevelop the former Ford Motor Company vehicle-testing property into an upscale private automotive club with two performance circuits capable of combining into a roughly 4.2-mile course.

Plans also call for vehicle condominiums, a clubhouse, dining, pool, wellness facilities, pickleball courts and limited lodging connected to membership.

The basic concept isn’t unprecedented. Private motorsports clubs have popped up around the country as automotive versions of golf clubs, combining driving circuits with luxury amenities and vehicle storage. Miami’s Concours Club, for example, offers a private circuit, upscale dining and trackside vehicle storage.

And Naples certainly has the clientele.

This is already home to the internationally recognized Revs Institute and its collection of more than 120 historically significant automobiles.

The existing property also isn’t exactly untouched wilderness. Johnny Böhmer Proving Grounds currently describes the Naples facility as an automotive testing center featuring a 2.1-mile straight track, 1.1-mile road course, shop and offices.

In other words, people driving cars quickly on this property would not exactly be a revolutionary new invention.

But Eastern Collier Has Bigger Questions
That doesn’t mean commissioners should rubber-stamp the thing because somebody rolls a Lamborghini into the presentation.

Environmental organizations, tribal members and nearby residents are raising concerns about development pressure near the Everglades, Florida panther habitat, wildlife corridors and water quality.

Those questions deserve actual answers.

Commissioner Bill McDaniel has emphasized that Hyper Club remains in its infancy. That’s important, because eastern Collier is already staring at enormous development proposals, including the Town of Big Cypress and Big Cypress Parkway.

So taxpayers and residents should be asking practical questions before government starts moving zoning lines around.

What infrastructure will this project require? Who pays for road improvements? What happens with drainage? What environmental mitigation will be required? How much noise reaches surrounding properties?

And here’s the big one: Will existing Collier County taxpayers end up subsidizing infrastructure needed to accommodate another luxury development?

Because if wealthy car enthusiasts want to spend their own money building a playground for Porsches, God bless America. That’s capitalism.

If taxpayers eventually get handed the infrastructure bill so somebody can shave three-tenths of a second off his lap time before dinner reservations, that’s a different conversation.

Don’t Kill It. Scrutinize It.
The conservative position shouldn’t automatically be “development bad.” Private property rights, investment and economic development matter.

But so does protecting existing taxpayers and making sure Collier County doesn’t approve growth faster than roads, drainage, emergency services and infrastructure can reasonably handle it.

Hyper Club could turn an existing automotive testing property into something genuinely unique for Southwest Florida.

Or it could become another piece of eastern Collier’s development puzzle that residents look back on 15 years from now and ask, “Did anybody think about where all these people were supposed to drive?”

Give the project a fair hearing. Demand environmental facts instead of slogans. Demand infrastructure numbers instead of glossy renderings. And above all, make sure the people buying the supercars are paying for their own playground.

Because the only thing more expensive than a Ferrari is government helping somebody build a neighborhood for one.