Crushed new Porsche Turbo; Bikes Challenged; More! (photos)

[Y2K5SRT]

Well, it came time for my 20th High School reunion on Friday night. We had just gotten back from Yellerstone on Monday night and the wife didn't feel like packing up the kids again and boarding the dog just to go up and meet at a bar in Iowa (formal reunion was Saturday night but I had a Viper event Sunday morning and had to bag it). So, with the wife electing to mind the castle I decided to saddle up the GTS and head north. After all, what's another 700 miles of pure driving pleasure between friends? Here is the view of much of the trip:

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And no, I am not one of those geeks that camps in the left lane all day. I found myself passing other cars more often than not. Gee, big surprise! Here is a Camaro that went down with barely a whimper:

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The pre-reunion bar bash went fine and I saw a few folks I hadn't seen in 20 years. Swapped a few lies and got a few grins on the Viper. Unfortunately, I forgot this was a bunch of people my age and not the high school seniors I remembered, so instead of picking up chicks they asked me if I would help pay for their kids college. Sigh...

Cedar Rapids is famous for First Avenue and its cruising. Did it when I was a kid and it hasn't changed a bit. Several hot rods stopped to check out the Snake, as the bar was on First Avenue. I decided to cut out a little early that night and start the trip back to Kansas City. As I cruised down the Avenue towards the Interstate, I stopped at Amoco to fuel up. Wasn't there five minutes when I was quickly surrounded:

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Had a great time with these guys and they told me there were only two Vipers in town and neither one came out much. We chatted until the local police showed up and chased us all off (the gas station had already closed by that time). Shot a few other pictures and sent them off to some of the guys (and gals) that were there. Most took turns sitting in the car and there were probably 40 bikes there by the time we got chased off. A few wanted to go out and race, but there really wasn't a good place for it around there.

Stopped for the night in beautiful Newton, Iowa and the hotel asked me to park it right by the front door to impress their other guests. They even offered to have somebody sit outside for most of the night to keep an eye on it if I was nervous. I wasn't, but they were super nice to suggest it. Decided to top off the fuel the next morning and clean the windshield from the previous nights bugfest. As I smeared around the bugs, the gas station attendant came out and offered to help. The attendent had their own stash of ArmorAll Glass Wipes in their trunk to really cut through the goo. Showed off the engine and the attendant even cleaned the inside glass while I answered questions about the horsepower, torque, etc. I offered to take a picture next to the Viper:

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Oh, did I mention that the attendant was a very lovely young lady? Ah, what fun this car is! So, as I crossed the Iowa/Missouri border I came upon the prize: A new Porsche Turbo. I knew that this was the fastest production car besides the Viper and could prove to be a real challenge. I revved the mighty V-10 as a direct challenge to this nimble European beauty. I eyed the driver and he gave me the nod. BAM! I crushed him like he had an old pushrod V-8...

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Okay, so he wouldn't take it off the trailer. Still, we traded big thumbs up and grins as I passed him by. Beautiful car! I made one last nature break and shot this picture of the Snake at the rest area. Just under 16,000 miles on her, 700 miles on this trip alone:

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Hey, did I tell you how much I love this car? What a ride!

Chris

 

[2tall]

That's it, you guys are having too much **** fun with those digital cameras. Now I have to get one.

 

[Gerald]

hmmm,

A moderator tempted to street race some bikes? Nawww....Maybe you did race them and aren't telling us...

...sorry couldn't resist... but nice pictures..

I guess it's all in the wording huh? I'll have to remember that..
Sorry to spoil your nice post though.. Enjoyed the pictures.. Wonder what would have happened if that Porsche weren't on the trailer.. FUN!


gerald

 

[Performin Norman]

Chris,

Great pics. Nice work. Btw, were you born with a camera in your hand? hahhaa

 

[Vreracing]

Its amazing the Porsche was transported in an open trailer. I always thought they used closed trailers for that kind of a car.


Otherwise good story.

 

[viper GTS-R]

I like the first few pics on the driver side.Makes me feel like im in the car.

 

[BigsViper]

Chris, Great pics; I always enjoy your posts. BTW how do you keep things so clean on a 700 mile trip? My rims get dirty going around the block (Go on, call me a polisher, but I love the track, too). Guess I need the EBC pads. Maybe the camera hides the bug guts. Thanks again...

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Alan & Bigs: Okay, okay, I will confess! When I gassed up the car in Iowa on Saturday morning it was a mess. I ended up with about four pounds of dead bugs on the car, including quite a few that apparently ended their life cycles in the lights at the hotel and chose the Viper as their final resting ground. I keep a small California duster handy, as well as a small cotton hand towel and mini bottle of Zaino spray. I have that in case of an errant bird dropping, but it worked fine for the bugs as well. I pulled away from the pumps and cleaned up the front and dusted off the car and wheels. I then pulled back in for the picture for the attendant. Told her I wanted the car to compliment her good looks and not insult them. Notice the gas cap is away from the pump - surprised nobody here called me on that!

I have two things that seem to keep the wheels pretty clean:

1. EBC brake pads (green) which I bought from GreatBrakes.com and the always-wonderful Kingman Hitz. Not completely dustless, but pretty darn close compared to original pads. They are also silent, which was my biggest reason for choosing them.

2. Porsche air deflectors. These help push air over the front wheels and keep the brakes cool. The side benefit is that they also seem to disperse some of the dust so that the fronts rarely get darker than the backs.

The rest area picture includes about 300 miles of fairly hard driving and no cleaning whatsoever. Otherwise the car has 300 miles of dust, bugs, and debris, while the car itself hasn't been washed in 2,500 miles or so. Just the California duster and an occasional shot of Zaino spray. Indeed, I haven't put a full coat of Zaino on in over a year. Waiting for the new "secret sauce" everybody keeps hinting at.

GTS-R: I thought a few folks might enjoy the driver's perspective so that is why I did those shots. They weren't easy, as I tried to get them exactly from where I was sitting. I am right handed and I was trying to shoot with my left hand to keep my right hand in the picture where it normally is. One of my very first memories of my car was when I drove it out of the factory and looked at this big hood in front of me. Virtually every car design out there now has a "cab forward" look to it where you don't see much, if any, of the hood from the drivers seat. The Viper is a clear exception and I love it.

Vre: I think that the Porsche was either being transported to the final owner or to a third party dealership. I did note the dealers name on the truck if anybody wants to look into it.

Norman: No more than you, Ansel Adams.

Gerald: You never spoil a post, you just add flavor! As to racing the street bikes, or anyone else I encountered on the trip, it is much more fun to discuss over beers. As to the Porsche, this was the first I have ever seen one but I expect they would be a handful for a Viper.

2tall: My digital camera is over three years old and is more or less outdated at this point. Even still, it is a BLAST to own and is much less expensive than a film camera to operate. Rather than end up with five out of twenty-four shots that are "keepers" (even though I paid to develop all 24), they cost me zero to develop and I print only those I like. It is also easy to then e-mail them around (or post them here) within minutes of having shot them. It also makes it easier for the recipient to keep or erase the pictures with no guilt. Otherwise Mom will feel obligated to frame that picture and put it on her memory wall. Much easier this way. I bought an awesome photo printer that looks Kodak quality without the price.

Thanks for all of the comments!

Chris

 

[rschiltz]

Great story Chris. Car looks awesome.

 

[Vreracing]

Maybe its just me, but it looks like the Camaro is getting ahead.

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Just kidding. I was working on some flash files and got bored.

 

[viperct2001]

how could you?

Showing a Camaro outgunning a Viper?

sacrilige! heresy I say!

; )