need for speed!!!

most of my teenage nights were spent in fantasies( Not those kind, you pervert you!!!).. while some of those did involve skydiving, climbing Mt Everest, and getting a Nobel prize( it's a fantasy people!!!), some nights, in my dreams, a blur of scarlet would appear, and my dream would break up.

I would wake up, hold my head in my hands, and check them tears.... but that vision of holding the steering wheel, with the prancing horse in it, would prove so moving, and the realisation that most likely, i might one day die and be forgotten in the annals of time, without ever experiencing the force of 2 G, as an enzo sets off, overwhelmed me..( yeah i know, the Enzo came much after the ashes of my teenage years lay to rest somewhere, so substitute a modena there)

i am still nowhere remotely close to having my dream realised, but the last few months have slowly forced me to create a space, in the enshrined hallow that me mind had set apart, for ferrari..

2 companies, by the names of Pagani, and Koenigsegg( go on, try pronouncing it ;) ), have increased my agony.. now, i fear that i may die, without ever touching a Ferrari, or a Zonda or, that masterpiece, every millionaire worth his dollar's dream, the CCX..

now for a flashback.. way back, around 1986, there was a little known car called the McLaren F1..

now, anyone who has driven it, would tell you, that it was like a deathwish, driving that car, and that most people actually took mind numbing injections, to supress their fear, while driving it.

ok, maybe that last bit was an exaggeration, but still, fact is, it shattered the speed record for a production car, clockin in that magic number, that all car lovers have memorised( like bradman's average), 241 MPH (385 KPH) on a straight. And drove straight into many car freaks hearts.

that record held for nealy 18 years.. seems incredible isnt it? that despite all the progress we made in that time, a car made in 86 was still the fastest on the planet..

well, you have to remember, that 241 MPH was made on a straight piece of airway tarmac..
in those intervening years, cars have become faster around the corners( the SLR is faster than the F1 , in corners, by around 40 MPH), and much safer to drive..

so, anyways, in 2002, came the koenigsegg CCR, which came straight off the production line, lined up on the test track, and clocked in 242 MPH!!!

the earth split, and skies cracked, and Mclaren almost panicked..
to get a sense of what actually happened, just imagine a newcomer in brazil, entering the world cup for the 1st time, and scoring 10 goals in one tournament..

so, the CCR held the record, but, in came TOP GEAR with a new format, and they have a pretty good lap setup, for cars to prove how fast they are, overall..

every episode since, they have a chart, which maintains the lap times posted by cars, driven by that man, every child wants to be, THE STIG(will we ever get know, if he's human or not??)

well, till a few months ago, the top car was the masterpiece of automobile engg(i am a full blooded TIFOSI, so shoot me) was the ENZO.

then, Pagani, a small company, came in with the Zonda F, which had a 500 BHP engine.. nothing remarkable on the surface, but the car weighed only 500 KG!! that makes a power to weight ratio of 1000 BHP/ tonne!!

sure enough, the Zonda came in at the top... and all looked well, for the dreamers like me..

Enter Bugatti, with the Veyron.. if you havent heard of it, shame on you.. it costs around 700,000 pounds, and, this is where it gets interestin, apparently, has a top speed of ( hold your breath!!) 405 KPH!!!! that's right, 405..

so,anyways, the problem was, bugatti are very secretive about the car. only a few pieces have been sold to select buyers( which includes the like of Beckham).. more to it, they have refused to let Even Jeremy Clarkson, feature it on the show, making people suspect, that, maybe, just maybe, bugatti concentrated too much on straight line, and cut around the corners(pun intended).

remember i had mention koeningsegg earlier? there's a reason..

they decided, that for far too long, they had languished in the background, and was time to assert themselves..

they released the CCX.. if ever there was poetry on 4 wheel, this was it, my friends.. an 850 BHP V6 engine, screamed F1 performance..

and it did.. on Top gear, it shattered the Enzo's record, by a fair mile.. only after, it challenged the mighty STIG and forced him to crash(the only car, that proved too much for him)..

and this is the best part, the car posted it's time, AFTER, they put rear spoilers on the car(which actually slows the car around cars, by generating excessive downforce)..

like putting 1 KG shoes on Powell, and him still braking the olympic record..

and the CCX posted 398 KPH, right out of the box...

the thing that most of us swift watching, and enzo dreaming guys are anticipating this year, is a straight down drag strip battle between the veyron and the CCX...

and, there go my nights again!! sigh!!!

and if you want to, check both these beauties out on the net. SIGH!!! if only....