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a April 21st, 2009

  1. Cars, cars, and then some.

    April 21, 2009 by Todd

    If you ask most (if not all) of my friends or family, you’ll find out that I’m not a morning person. Most Saturday mornings I don’t wake until the sun is way above the horizon. But on some Saturday mornings, I find myself getting out of bed before even Katie. Why? Cars.

    Every nice Saturday morning, a group of car enthusiasts with beautiful cars meet up at Redmond Town Center — which is an outdoor shopping mall. The management at RTC is wonderful enough to help block off part of the parking lot and let these enthusiasts hang out, check out cars, and socialize.

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    A picture taken from the Microsoft offices in Redmond Town Center. You can see Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and a few others.

    Here’s the one Katie alluded to a few posts ago. It’s a numbers matching Shelby GT500KR Mustang. With original tires.

    Shelby Mustang

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    The next one up is an Ariel Atom This one has a GM motor, an upgraded supercharger, and suspension upgrades. I’ve actually seen him quite a few times driving down the street as I’m walking to work.

    Ariel Atom

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    This is the interior — he added in the power outlets and the other things to let him have *some* conveniences in it.

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    Next up is the SSC Ultimate Aero, currently the fastest production car in the world, at 257mph. This is the actual car that set the record. The company who makes it, Shelby SuperCars (not related to Carroll Shelby), is based in Eastern Washington. They auctioned this one off, and so they brought it down to show off before sending it to auction. When most of the other cars (Ferraris, Lambos, etc.) idled, they were quiet until the driver put his or her foot down. When this idled, it was like a sledge hammer to the ear drums. This car was built for one reason : speed.

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    Monster brakes.

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    The interior. Much nicer than I expected.

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    The actual certificate. Google Maps link for Highway 221 where the run (probably) took place. I’m not sure exactly where on Hwy 221 it was, but this looked really straight.

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    And finally, just a few of the other cars there.

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    Ferrari F40.

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    Ford GT.

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    Porsche GT3RS.

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    A few different cars, notably a Porsche Carrera GT.

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    Austin-Healey

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    I believe this is a Mercedes Benz CLK DTM

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    Ferrari 550, among others.

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    Ferrari F430 Scuderia

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    Panoz Roadster. Had a Ford 4.6L V8 motor.

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    Finally, Sir Mix-A-Lot‘s orange Lamborghini MurciĆ©lago LP640 parking.