(MONEY Magazine) – Sure it's fun. Blasting around a racetrack in a hip-hugging Formula Ford is the ultimate four-wheeled fantasy. But high-performance driving schools also offer powerful returns on investment: you could learn skills that will save your life. An amazingly wide range of people, ages 16 to 60, sign up for driving courses that cost $450 to $2,500. A student the schools see often is the middle-aged driver who has recently acquired a Ferrari, Porsche or Jaguar and is scared to death to drive it. The majority just want to avoid drunken drivers, handle icy roads and brake safely. The largest high-performance driving school in the world is owned by retired Formula One driver Skip Barber. His school -- with headquarters near Connecticut's Lime Rock Park racetrack -- employs 50 professional instructors. About 5,000 students attend the courses each year, and lately, says Barber, 20% are women. The oldest school in the country -- and Barber's main competition -- was founded by Formula One star Bob Bondurant in 1968, a decade before Barber began. Bondurant recently moved from the San Francisco area to a new Phoenix facility. Admission requires only a driver's license and familiarity with manual shifting. The schools supply cars, helmets, protective Nomex jumpsuits and explanations of ''oversteer,'' ''threshold braking'' and ''friction circle.'' Essentially, all schools feature the same curriculum: one-day (about $450) or two-day (about $800) courses, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., are tailored to advanced street drivers and conducted in passenger cars. You learn how to sit properly an arm's length behind the wheel -- most people sit too close -- then practice gear shifting, braking, throttling, transition and accident evasion maneuvers. The final exam consists of timed runs around a lane of orange cones (an ''autocross course''). Three-day and four-day courses (about $1,600 and $2,300) are aimed at wanna- be racers or enthusiasts who own high-performance autos. You start with a slalom through orange cones, progress through various skill levels to practice braking, shifting, turning and throttle skills and end up racing Formula Fords as fast as you can around a road course. ''I teach a driver to look where he's going -- no matter what happens,'' says Swedish Formula One driver Bertil Roos.

BOX: AROUND THE TRACK

Schools often cut deals with nearby hotels. Typically, students qualify for a 25% discount on double rooms. -- BMW/Skip Barber Advanced Driving School, Rte. 7, Canaan, Conn. 06018; 203-824-0771. Street driving: one day, $450; two days, $800. Racing: three days, $1,600. At Honolulu, Palm Beach and seasonally at 22 other locations. -- Bertil Roos Grand Prix Racing School, Box 221-M, Blakeslee, Pa. 18610; 717-646-7227. Street driving: two days, $795. Racing: three days, $1,695; four days, $2,495. April to October. Roos teaches all courses. -- Bob Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving, Box 60968, Phoenix, Ariz. 85082;800-842-7223. Street driving: one day, $495; two days, $995; three days, $1,495. Racing: three days, $1,695. Operates year round. -- Jim Russell Racing Drivers School (for racing only), 1023 Salinas-Monterey Hwy., Salinas, Calif. 93908; 800-821-8755. Three days, $1,695. Year round. Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, Box 119, Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada JOT 1ZO; 819-425-2739. Three days, about $1,600. May to October. -- Spenard-David Racing School (for racing only), RR2, Shannonville, Ontario, Canada KOK 3AO; 613-969-0334. One day, about $510; three days, about $1,300 to $1,550. April to October.