Showing off the Porsche Carrera GT at the Mooz race track for a test drive... Being one of the few owners of this brute machine is not only prestigious, but also a privilege. Never felt this pleased with an SL car since owning a 2007-08 Ferrari Formula One. Although my Kimi Raikonnen replica helmet still says how much I still feel about my other "red devil" of a car (laughter).
I believe fate had lead me to cross paths with this car as it was being road tested by IAm Zabelin (not a mis-caps name by the way), the car's creator who was at the Mooz Racing Circuit at that time. I was burning pixel rubber of my older Lamborghini Gallardo (my all-time favourite road car before the Carrera showed up hahaha) when I chanced upon Zabelin and his magnificent creation. It just seemed like yesterday when I was told about the eventual release of the prototype which was said to be just a couple weeks away. Since then, I had never stopped wondering when I can finally get my sweaty hands on this beauty. With that in mind, I was still confident that it would be just a matter of time when the roaring sounds coming out of the double barrel exhaust as I put my foot on the pedal, gnashing its gears and cruising around popular SL hotspots.
The heart and soul of the car is its engine! You'll be amazed with the detail this car has as well as it being crafted to scale the real life model. In RL the car boasts of a 5.7 V10 engine and is considered the third most expensive car to ever be manufactured (and the most expensive Porsche in the company's history), about £330,000 and close to L$7,000.00 in Second Life. There is a certain sense of pride in getting to own one, something money simply cant buy.
The rear engine hood, front car boot and its two sleek doors are fully functional (they open and close in a click of a mouse). Sporty tan leather cup-seats which are also standard in the RL version adds more to its x-factor. Authentic Carrera GT engine sounds is but one of the many features that make this car a must-have and worthy enough to be included in your SL wish list.
To date there are a little over a hundred proud owners of this dream car which includes the Lindens (wow!) and me of course... We're like a group of racers who can't seem to wait for its official launching! The car is currently in its infancy stage and owners are testing, as well as enjoying it at the moment. It may still be considered a prototype but the car works like a charm. Having to shed 7Gs of your precious lindens, I personally believe it still is a great investment as the car is a limited release. Only a few more brave ones would probably be getting the chance to own one, so I suggest you get yours now while you still can.
Careful.. careful! This car was crafted with an ingenious feature of getting real-like damage when bumped into or when crashing off the tracks.
This beauty does have a few aces up her sleeve and is probably the first in SL, where the car actually gets damaged when hit or during the event of a collision. Apart from rezzing up a new car from your inventory to have a fresh one, you also can actually "mouse-click" the damaged panels and they quickly return to their normal form. It also has functional head lights and tail lights which activates when driving as well as 3 start-up modes (Chill, Cruise, and Racing); a burn and drift option and 5 gears that absolutely work well with the Havok 4 platform.
Of course there are occasional FREE updates which is part of the package when purchasing the car. The first update in the pipeline will give the owners the option to customise the colours of their cars. Fine-tuning of this new feature is still being done by IAm as of press time, and more updates will be sent out to group members as they come. If you are not a member yet, I would suggest you join the group... it's FREE!
Chillin'-out with Liz as we both evaluate and test the car for ourselves. The verdict? Two-thumbs up! With so many Porsche wannabes in SL, nothing so far beats this Carrera. As what the old adage says, if the wife approves of it then it must be really good! Hahaha!
Superb after-sales service! An unannounced update for the car's existing alloy wheels. Well ventilated disc-brakes and the official 5-spoke alloys adds more charm to the already mind-blowing creation of ZA Motors.
The Head's Up Display (HUD) is one of the most unique and cleverly-designed fully functional HUDs in SL with interactive buttons and features. The car's gears status also appear in its digital display. The blue i-button which can be located at the far most left part of the HUD will open an online owners handbook, you simply just cant go out without it! All the A-Z about the car can be found in there!
So are you up to it? Want to be one of the coolest dudes on hot wheels in Second Life? Then go get yourself one! Believe me its one investment worth trying. For more information, please refer to the official sites and blogs of ZA Motors: http://zamotors.blogspot.com/ and http://sl-carreragt.blogspot.com/.
See the latest review of the Carrera GT here: http://n71aeon.blogspot.com/2008/07/raging-and-roaring-road-runners.html
If that ain't enough for you, watch this official video from UK's number one car magazine show, Top Gear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE_WqdKbTvY&feature=related. I am sure after watching, you may really want to get one.
