Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Car of the Day
It's not a fast car and it's not a very good looking one either, but with only 284 ever made, it's not a surprise to see one in Palo Alto. Made in Modena, Italy. $78,900 USD (1990).
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Two Good Reasons to Start Blogging Again
The one I saw parked on Cowper St. was black, but the red here shows off the lines so much better. The stats by the way, are taken from the November issue of Car and Driver, btw.
Vitals:
$270,790
562 hp V8
0-60: 3.3 seconds
Top Speed: 208 mph
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Like the SLR, this Mercedes presents itself in long-nosed subtly - until, of course, you open the doors...
Vitals:
$203,500
563 hp V8
0-60: 3.5 seconds
Top Speed: 197 mph
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Note the License Plate...
Yes, there are a lot of them.
Porsche Catch Up: 'Turbo S' Models
996 Turbo S
I didn't know a Turbo S model existed, so I had just figured the guy bought an 'S' badge on the aftermarket and slapped it on. Nope. Porsche did in fact produce a Turbo S 911 in 2005. I happily stand corrected.
Vitals:
444 hp
3.7 sec. 0-60
197 mph top speed
993 Turbo S
Nor did I know Porsche built a 993 Turbo S either. If 'Turbo' = 10, the 'Turbo S' = 11.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Now Taking Orders
Car of the Day
...the 430 Scuderia is the present day "It". Claims of 0-60 sprint times are rediculous, if not unbelievable (Road & Track estimates 3.3, MotorTrend claims 3.1). Price tag is astronomical: $272,306. Practiaclity is ZERO. But the Scuderia is...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Car of the Day
If you can forgive its long nose and awkward porportions, the SLR is a beautiful car to see in person In front of me one morning near Il Forniao was a half-million dollar, ultra fast exotic Mercedes Benz. But cloaked in deep dark black paint, you could be forgiven for walking by and not even noticing it. Unless, of course, the doors on open.
Vitals:
$452,520 - $495,000
626 hp V8
0-60: 3.5 seconds
Top Speed: 208 mph
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Car of the Day
Again, not the fastest or most expensive, but definitely one of the coolest. I see a lot of Elises running around town, but an Exige is a rare sight and always a head turner.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Car of the Day
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Godzilla
Every car magazine in print went bananas over the GT-R. Motortrend even named it Car of the Year. I've seen four in town, two gray, one red, and one very very mean looking black one. Every car magazine also tells the story of how it took a GT2 head on at the Nürburgring... and lost by a just a few measly seconds.
Vitals:
$77,840
480 hp V6
3.3 sec. 0-60
192 mph
Friday, October 31, 2008
Cars of the Week
Vitals:
Dodge Ram SRT10 Viper
Monday, October 27, 2008
Cars of the Week
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.
Engine: 530 hp twin-turbo V8
Top Speed: 184 mph
1967 and 2007 Shelby GT500's
Lotus Elise
Monday, October 20, 2008
Notable Car of the Day
Notable Car of the Day
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.
Friday, October 3, 2008
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
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Notable Car of the Day
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.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Notable Car of the Day
As if a standard Gallardo wasn't good enough, why not make it 154 lbs lighter and give it 10 more horsepower. And so they did. 'Superleggera' translates to 'super-light' and a 530 hp V-10 pushes this all wheel drive Lambo from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 196 mph. The one I saw was identical to the one in the pictures, Telesto Grey. Price is around $240,000.
Notable Car of the Day
Somebody drives a red one to my gym. It must be new because I've never seen it there before. It's was wide and long and had a much bigger physical presence than I had expected. I've seen another red one (which may or may not have been the same) and a dark gray one too, both at Il Forniao.
In spite of its generous size and GT proportions, it is nothing short of a super car. A re-tuned 620 hp Enzo V-12 powers it from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds (though Road & Track magazine recorded a time of 3.2 seconds) and tops out at a speed of 205 mph. To get one with any respectable options, it will run you around $389,393.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Finally
It had been a while since I'd seen a Tesla. I was starting to get worried, but fortunately there was one in Racing Green sitting in the parking lot next to Il Forniao on my way to work.
According to Wikipedia, as of September 10th, 2008, only 27 Roadsters have been delivered to their owners. The waiting list is over 1,000. I've seen a half-dozen, maybe seven, and that excludes the Tesla showroom just a mile away in Menlo Park. (There's only two showrooms in the world, by the way.)
Each car runs about $100,000. The '09 models sticker at $109,000. And even though it's all electric (as in, NOT a hybrid), it's insanely fast. 6,831 individual lithium-ion battery cells and a single speed transmission rocket the Roadster from 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. That's super-car fast.
Ferrari Mondial t
Perhaps not the most awe-inspiring Ferrari ever made, the "t" was however, the best Mondial ever made. There's one that's been cruising around town lately. They're not terrible expensive anymore. Mid-$30's seem to be the asking price for previous generation Mondials on ebaymotors. Tempting...
Ferrari 550 Maranello
Two Ferraris in one day is always a good day and it happens more often than you'd think. See a post or two below for a good pic of a 550. It too was sitting in the parking lot of Il Forniao.
Notable Car of the Day
Don't get me wrong, I think Artic Silver and Meteor Grey are great colors, but I haven't seen a late model 911 in red since I've been in Palo Alto. Okay, maybe I've seen two, but certainly not a Turbo. It was refreshing and brought me back to the 80's where every sports car was red, especially Porsches
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Notable Car of the Day
Bentley again continues to impress me with its amazing gift of combining power with elegance. It's one thing to make a car the most plush and luxurious in the world, especially when you have Mulliner as your in-house coachbuilder. It's quite another to give that car a 6.0 L 552 hp W12 engine and a top speed of 194 mph! At $170,300 it almost seems like a bargain, but with a car like this, you can add literally tens of thousands of dollars in mechanical, technical, and bespoke cabin options to truly make it your own.
I saw an exact copy of the one pictured above on my way to work this morning. It was sitting outside of that hotel/restaurant where I've seen so many other exotic cars. I don't know what it is these guys do in there over breakfast, but I bet it involves the Internet and lots and lots of money. And they're clearly very good at it.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Incredible day for cars
Ferrari 550 Maranello
It looked just like the one in the picture above, wheels and all. I could hear its growl 20 car lengths a head of me. Awesome.
Porsche 930 Turbo
Probably my all-time favorite Porsche. The one I saw was a black Targa top.
Porsche 911 Targa 4S
The first 997 Targa 4S I've seen to date. It's at the top of my non-exotic Want List (i.e. < $100K).
Vitals:
Retractable glass roof
All wheel drive
355 hp
179 MPH
MSRP $97,300
Go here and play the toggle switch on the bottom left. http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/911/911-targa-4s/indetail/roofconcept/
Back in Palo Alto proper, These two Maseratis were parked nose to nose. One new, one old.
Maserati Gransport Spyder
I see it just about every day. Black over dark tan leather, clean and shiny. Class act roadster.
Maserati Gran Turismo
I don't know if I'll ever call a car 'sexy', but this one's pretty hot. It's body is sculpted by Pininfarina, the same design house that creates Ferrari's sleek and swoopy lines and if you ask me, it's the best looking car out there right now.
Audi R8
Absolutely stunning in person. Low profile, state-of-the-art design, two tone paint, plexiglass engine cover. I've seen quite a few around town and it's always a head turner. Very well done. Very well done indeed.
Vitals:
420 hp V8
187 mph
Street Price $140,000 - $160,000
Honorable Mentions
Black Porsche 996 Turbo
Red 8 cylinder Ferrari (corner of my eye glimpse. couldn't tell if it was an F430 or 360 Modena.)
Grey Lotus Exige S
(more on these later)