Cars of the Week

Lamborghini Murcielago

Saw one on the way to work this morning. It was idling curbside in the rain, gray, lights on. It looked perfect. I've seen one other in town, Pearl Orange, blue skies, sunshine. It also looked perfect.

Vitals:

575 hp, sub-4 to 60, 200+ top speed.

MPG City: 9


Dodge Ram SRT10 Viper

Yeah it's a truck, but it happens to be the fastest production truck in the world. It set that Guinness World Record in 2004 thanks to it's massive 8.3 Liter V10 Viper engine which powers it from 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 154.587 mph. (It's the same engine that the car has.) Fittingly, it's the only vehicle I've seen around town with a McCain/Palin sticker on it. Well, it was actually more of a yard sign taped to the bed gate.

Cars of the Week

Bentley Brooklands

Only 550 Brooklands will be build worldwide and I just happened to catch the tail-end of an Antique Gold example rolling down Hamilton Ave. At nearly twice the price of a Flying Spur, this is Bentley's top-of-the-line. This is the Bentley to have. Too bad they're all sold out.

Vitals:

Base Price: $348,085
Engine: 530 hp twin-turbo V8

Weight: 5,270 lbs

Lenght: 17 feet 9 inches
Top Speed: 184 mph

0-60: 5.0 seconds

1967 and 2007 Shelby GT500's

I'm not the biggest Mustang fan in the world, but put 500 horses under the hood it's suddenly become a very serious car. And a special one too. The Shelby GT500 was first introduce in 1967 and then resurected in 2007. I was lucky enough to see one of each in the same day, both white with blue La Mans stripes, just like in the pictures.

Lotus Elise

In my nine-minute walk back from Whole Foods, I happend to come across three seperate Lotus Elilses. What's their tagline? "The world's most affordable supercar."? Regardless, they will always be head-turners, especially when painted in blinding Solar Yellow. The other two were light and dark shades of silver.

Notable Car of the Day

The New 911

First one I've seen. Some say it's the best 911 ever. If only I could truly say "I'll see about that."

Notable Car of the Day

De Tomaso Pantera

A long-time, but forgotten favorite. The one I saw drive past my window was yellow and looked just like the one in the pictures. Apparently they were hunks of junk though. Regardless, a 1971 model could achieve 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. Built between 1971 and 1991, only 5500 or so were ‘officially’ imported to the U.S.

MINI Cooper S GP

It's certainly not the fastest or most powerful car I've seen here, but it is the fastest and most powerful MINI you can buy off the shelf. Even sweeter, only 415 made it into the U.S. It's not surprising then that I've seen one in town.

Aston Martin DBS V12

I must have the best view in Palo Alto for car watching. Just past the edge of my desk, through the floor-to-ceiling window, rolls a DBS hot off the presses. It's brand-new for '08 and replaces the Vanquish as Aston's flagship model. Not surprising, it looked exactly like the one pictured above.

Vitals:
Base Price $265,000
510 hp V-12
191 mph
0-60 in under 4 seconds

Ferrari F355 Spyder

One of my all-time favorite Ferraris. I saw this one was parked just outside our office. It was blue on blue with black interior, very subtle, but the giant chrome prancing horse and round tail lights on the backside just screamed "Ferrari!".

Notable Car of the Day

Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe

For my money, none look as good as the original Vipers however, curbside and shiny in blue and striped in white, it still looks mighty impressive. To the best of my knowledge, it was third generation Viper ('03 - '06).

Vitals:
510 hp V-10
0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds
1-100 mph in 8.3 seconds
Top speed: 196 mph

The fourth generation Vipers, by the way, are significantly faster and more powerful in all respects. Can't wait to see one.