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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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. 
First one I've seen. Some say it's the best 911 ever. If only I could truly say "I'll see about that."
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.
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.
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!".
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Probably my all-time favorite Porsche. The one I saw was a black Targa top.
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)
Rounding the turn from University to Cowper was a red 550 Barchetta. A total of only 448 Barchettas were build. It was so true to its roadster roots that it didn't even come with a convertible top.
The Spyder I saw was black like the one in the picture. Current prices range from price is $201,595 - $263,595. Interesting to note that the Spyder costs a good 20-25k more than the hard top. Its 520 hp V10 puts power to all four wheels to achieve a presumably stable top speed of 196 mph.
So, I've gotten to the point where a standard issue Continental GT is nothing to write home about. I've seen light blue ones, dark blue ones, convertables, and even a rub-it-in-you-face metallic gold one. But this one takes the cake! It's massively powerful, insanely fast, and extremely expensive. And looking at it, you'd never know it's only 1 mph slower than the GT2. I'm so extremely impressed by this car right now. Unlike the pictures though, the one I saw this morning on the way to work was black over tan and cool as hell. Anyway, here are the vitals:
0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds. Did I mention it weighs over 5,000 lbs?
Not to be left out of the bad-ass Benz crowd, a black SL63, exactly like the one above, often sits in front of old an building that's undergoing renovation. With no disrespect intended, the 63 is the entry level AMG SL. Even still, its massive V8 engine cranks out 518 hp and has an MSRP price tag from $132,000. The thing is, nobody ever pays sticker on a car like this.
And not to be left out of the bad-ass roaster crowd, is the ALPINA Z8. I used to see one parked at Stanford every Monday night when I took classes there last winter. And I've seen a handful of other Z8's cruising around town, but the ALPINA is special because there were only 555 built and they were made only in 2003. It wasn't particularly fast or powerful (comparatively at 161 mph and 375 hp), but it was a smooth and supple touring car with special leather, suspension, enigine, wheels, and other high-end appointments. Furthermore, if you can find one, they're still selling at or above their original sticker price. In fact, there's one on ebaymotors right now at $136,100 and there's still 12 hours left to go! 
Just when I thought I'd leave work with nothing to write home about, down rolls a stark-raving yellow Lamboghini, just outside my window on Hamilton Ave. It looked just like the one above except it had black wheels with yellow accents. It sounded thunderous.
Great day for cars, though I never thought a Mercedes anything short of an SLR would top the day's list. But, after doing a little homework upon returning from Whole Foods, this 4-door Benz turned out to be the most powerful and most expensive car I'd see all day. It other words (and numbers), $180,420 to $194,000 and a 604 hp bi-turbo V12. Really?
Aston Martin DB9
Throw in a few options and I suppose the DB9 could ring up somewhere between $192,475 and $213,875. Or at least that I what I was able to dig up. Powerplant = 470 hp V12
If you don't have an extra fifty grand lying around to pony up for the 65 series AMG, the 63's will comfort you with a $139,700 bill. Still no slouch, its 6.3L V8 puts out a more-than-you-need 514 hp.
The numbers here aren't nearly as impressive comparatively, but still, it's a pretty notewothy car. The one I saw today was blue.
414 hp V8
500 hp V10
500 hp V10
