My first true love! Although perhaps obsession is a better word, this model Dodge Viper R/T10 and a Maserati GranTurismo S sum up all the aspects that I like in a car.
The Maser's elegant sweeping body shape from the aggressive dip on the front smoothing out all the way to it's sexy ass, the way the car appears to be made for a black exterior with red leather on the inside, the timeless stance it has and the Maserati crown all around, symbolizing an acquired automotive taste. You see, for that kind of money you could have gone for a Merc, Bmw, hell I bet you could score an R8 if you play your cards right. But you went Italian and not just to Ferrari or Lamborghini like everyone would, you chose Maserati. Excellence through passion.
Contrasting this finesse and refinement, I have an appreciation for the primitive side. The animal side. I never liked horses because of their own will and limited performance. I never really liked my Toyota Yaris('s but who's counting?) because of the lacking of an own will, they where boring, they didn't have will or character, unless you pushed them way beyond the envelope, then they'd kick you in the nuts suddenly and vigorously. This cherry-red beast however: about 450 HP on the crank, 394 on the rear tires, no electronic aides, not even an ABS system. This thing will kick you in the nuts while trying to roll away from the curb in first gear. An engine design fit for a truck, redone for a sports car that needed to breath new life into Chrysler's image. But it will always be a Dodge to me, the heritage is clear and simple: Team Viper, Shelby, the Shelby Cobra, the Daytona Coupe and in between a little of the Hemi/Mopar spirit, the recollection of when days where great, and the proof they can be again. This car is from 1994, almost 20 years old, I've loved it for about as long... Ever since that damn TV show that formed my perception of what a car should be.
Since motivation was at a low today I payed her a visit in the showroom , it hit me yet again that you cannot grasp the stance and the feeling this car gives you when you stand close to it, it's something no image can accurately contain. It's an attitude, a level of aggressiveness, something buried deep inside one's soul because it's not right to let it out anymore, the world has changed, times have changed, perceptions have changed, it has quite frankly become a dinosaur. But standing there, with 35 000 kilometers on the dial, a price tag of 40 000 Euro, it's hard to resist something that will get you into so much trouble. The gleaming paint under those showroom spotlights, the snake-eyes staring at you, the body line contours of that massive nose, the waist line of the car converging in the wide hips that to me have always defined muscle in a car, I could swear it was talking to me... "You only live once... You know you want to... I wasn't made for standing here in a glass cage, I was made for the open road at night, deserted, empty, free, howling out of my exhausts as a tortured angry predator and sending chills down the spine of the sweaty, terrified white knuckled driver trying to control a car that does not want to be controlled.". I know I want to, I know I'll never forget you, someday we'll both be free.
