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JOE PHILLIPS
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sex sells — just ask Eliot Spitzer. Super cars sell, too.
For A-list drivers who can afford them, these high-end exotics are the epitome of success. For the rest of us, such automotive bling is the stuff of escapist fantasies.
And fantasies are a good thing these days, especially with Wall Street jitters, a housing bust and all that election hullabaloo.
Price: $220,000
Mpg: 15 city/19 highway
Talk about a tease. Alfa Romeo left the U.S. market in 1995. Now Alfa’s back, and with a stunning two-seater that you could just imagine George Clooney driving to his Italian manse on Lake Como. Trouble is, you need Clooney’s clout to snag one: only 500 of these 8C Competizione hotties will be built, with fewer than 100 arriving on U.S. shores. Still, with enough consumer ballyhoo, Alfa could churn out more or come up with a less-expensive version to cater to the masses. Either way, the 8C sparkles, with retro, almost Bugatti-like styling. A wide, swooping hood tapers sharply to a V-shaped center grille. And power comes from a tweaked-and-tuned Maserati V8 (Fiat owns Alfa and Maserati). The cabin is refined racecar, with steering-wheel paddle shifters, carbon-fiber panels, aluminum pedals/trim and a place for two Schedoni luggage bags. There’s no trunk — just enough space for a fitted case that holds three bottles of wine.
Price: $270,000
Mpg: 10 city/18 highway
Just before Daniel Craig (aka James Bond) is tied naked to a chair in “Casino Royale,” he totals — spectacularly — a DBS. The car rolls seven times: a Guinness world record. Seeing it destroyed is as gut-wrenching as watching 007 get flogged. That’s because this is the best Aston yet, with sinewy lines wrapped in black-tie elegance. To help cool the smokin’ V12, there are shark-like hood vents. Top speed: 191 mph, with a 0-to-60 time of 4.2 seconds. How to stop something this fast? Carbon ceramic brakes, natch. The DBS is so top-drawer, Aston calls the key an Emotion Control Unit. So very British. But not so the deep-bass exhaust growl: it rumbles like Barry White on steroids. And for secret-agent wannabes — those with $35,000 to spare — there’s a Jaeger LeCoultre wristwatch that unlocks and starts the car.
Price: $110,000
Mpg: 13 city/19 highway
With arched fenders and a long pointed snout, this Pininfarina-designed masterpiece is half the price of similar super cars. Yet it’s just as quiet, quick and, well, quirky: there are six color options for the brake calipers alone. Still, there’s room for four adults, and the trunk can hold two golf bags. The car also boasts superior build quality, with handmade seats, real wood trim, six airbags and storage compartments galore. Adaptive headlights turn when cornering, and the 11-speaker Bose stereo can hold 180 hours of music. A souped up S version — with slicker, more sinister styling — arrives soon.
Price: $350,000
Mpg: 12 city/19 highway
The Drophead is all about hair. The windshield is so vast, there’s no worry about windblown tresses. The paint and leather can be ordered in any hue, making it simple to match your hair color. And there’s so much room inside, it’s easy to fit a few “Hairspray” Turnblads — Divine, Ricki Lake, Harvey Fierstein, and John Travolta — all at once. At 5,557 pounds, this Roller weighs more than a Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s also two feet longer. The result: a yacht-like ride, though cornering is surprisingly nimble. That’s because of the BMW V12, which helps the Drophead clock 0 to 60 mph in a mere 5.6 seconds. For picnic-goers, the trunk lid opens down like a tailgate and can hold up to 330 pounds. A few over-the-top features: the cashmere-lined insulated top, fitted sisal floor mats, 15-speaker stereo with 9 amplifiers and a brushed stainless-steel hood.
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