BLOOMBERG March 24, 2011
Bat front! The original 1960s Batmobile
This is every kid’s dream. I’m sitting in the Batmobile, a gonzo fantasy car with parachutes and fins so big they look like wings.
I’ve arrived at a custom-car garage in North Hollywood to meet two automotive legends — the original car from the 1960s Batman TV show (“Pow!” “Zap!” “Kaboom!”) and its creator, 85-year-old George Barris.
I’ve even been promised a drive in the Caped Crusader’s cruiser…if only it will stop raining. (more…)
BLOOMBERG March 10, 2011
Big on Baja: The buggy
I’m blinking sand from my eyes, rocketing down a dirt road off the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.
A hill looms ahead and my co-driver yells for me to gun it. I do, and all four of our dune buggy’s wheels quit the ground.
Now we are in the air, flying — control ceded to gravity — then snap back to earth.
“Do it again!” my buddy Boyd shouts. That went okay, so why not?
We’re in a $100,000 dune buggy, a race-built machine without doors or windshields, on a driving tour through the Baja California peninsula. Every few minutes the surreal beauty alternates with “am-I-gonna-survive-this?” adrenaline. (more…)
BLOOMBERG Feb. 24, 2011
Rolls-Royce Ghost...
Pulling up to a hot restaurant in West Hollywood in a $302,000 Rolls-Royce feels just as dope as you would imagine. Eyes swivel and the valets get a hungry look.
Pffhhhtt.
That’s the sound of my credibility deflating as I accidentally trigger the windshield wipers, and cleaning fluid douses the entire scene in a fine mist.
So goes living with a Ghost. Over four days motoring around Los Angeles, I sip draughts of the good life, so afforded because of the assumption that I can afford this assemblage of sparkling chrome and butter-cream leather. The Ghost gets parked in the prime spot every single time. (more…)
By Jason H. Harper – Apr 15, 2010 (Bloomberg)
Porsche Sport Driving School: Fast!
On the side of a steep hairpin turn at Barber Motorsports Park racetrack, racing legend Hurley Haywood has his eye on me. That’s because I’ve come in waaay too hot and my Porsche 911, tires smoking, is hurtling sideways toward the spot where Haywood is standing.
Joggling the wheel to regain control, I give a sheepish wave to the iconic Porsche race driver and then roar away.
Having Haywood, who has won the 24 Hours of Daytona five times and Le Mans 24 Hours thrice, watch over novices is like having Celtics basketball star Larry Bird coach a junior-varsity team. Haywood, chief driving instructor, helped start the Porsche Sport Driving School and attends 20 classes a year.
The three-day Masters Plus program is Porsche’s most advanced course in the U.S., costing $5,295. Graduates get a race license to the Sports Car Club of America, allowing drivers to enter regional races.
Suiting up: Day 3 of the sport driving school
(more…)
