Running of the Bulls
When I was 10 years old I had two enormous posters hung over my bed. One was a red Ferrari Testerossa, the other a white Lamborghini Countach. I would stare at those posters and endlessly daydream about one day getting behind the wheel of the real thing. As luck would have it, that dream has come to life. I discovered a rental agency outside of New York City called Gotham Dream Cars that rents everything from Ferraris and Lamborghinis to the Mercedes McClaren SLR and Bentley. My buddy James was coming into town and we decided to each rent a Lamborghini, he a Gellardo and I chose the Murcielago.
When “Lambo Day” was finally upon us, I was just as nervous as I was excited. How often do you have the opportunity to drive a car that costs as much as your house? I settled into the seat of the Murcielago and familiarized myself with the interior. Formula 1 style tiptronic transmission: check. 580hp V12 engine: check. Enormous 14″ wide tires: check. Updated will and testament: check. After signing my life away I was handed the keys. It was time to cut this monster loose!
Seeing a bright orange Murcielago on the open road is enough to turn heads. Seeing a bright orange Murcielago next to a bright yellow Gellardo is enough to break necks and cause whiplash! These things are attention getters, no doubt. We hadn’t driven more than a mile from our starting point and already I had a feel for what it would be like to be a naked supermodel walking down a busy street. Not familiar with the area, we accidentally took a wrong turn into a residential neighborhood and people were literally coming out of their homes with cameras and kids to get a peek. Everyone was gawking!
We made our way up the Pallisades Parkway to a public park called Bear Mountain. Here we found lots of curved, open roads where we could have a little fun and play a little cat-and-mouse. Once confident I simply put my foot down, watched the revs climb and blipped my way through the gears. Intoxicated is the only way to describe what I was feeling and to be honest, I couldn’t tell you how fast I was going, nor do I care. I simply enjoyed the sweet melody of the V12 at 8000rpm as I down shifted and the computer controlled transmission rev-matched the gears before re-engaging the clutch. Who needs a radio when you have a symphony right behind your head?
Truth be told, the day ended way too fast and it was over before we knew it. Caught up in all the excitement I didn’t realize until afterwords that we had hardly gotten any video or photos. Oh well, that just means we’ll have to do it again!
