September 2007
Lassi Ahola-Huhta
07 Extreme #40
I
moved to USA in December 2006 and was in Las Vegas for the job interview
in September 2006 while also being on a training course. I applied for a
re-location within our global company, Varian Medical Systems, a cancer
treatment hardware and software vendor for radiation therapy. After it
was clear that my interview went well and I got the job, I ended up to
the local Ford dealer to check out if they had any Shelby Mustangs for
sale. My rental car in Vegas being a Shelby GT-H. Nice car! After
hearing from the dealer that my favorite, GT500 had been sold out, I got
a chance to test drive the stock GT with manual transmission. Fun drive
that was!
Then
after having warmed me up, he started talking about another Mustang
vendor apart from Shelby, Saleen. I had never heard of that. He showed
me the 3 models they had and me being so into the GT500, fixed my eyes
on the S281 Extreme right from the beginning. I left the dealer after
telling that I would need a couple days to think it over since the price
tag was over 70K! Well after one night sleep I called the dealer and
told I was coming to talk some more and I ended up ordering a Grabber
Orange S281E... So my training course ended and I flew back to Finland
where I started to prepare my move to USA.
Finally, after moving to USA and totally 6 months of wait since ordering
the car - and seeing pictures from the Saleen factory in the meantime
- the dealer called me and said "Got some good news for you - your
Saleen is here". Man, I jumped to the roof and got flight tickets from
Nashville to Vegas the next weekend. Little did I know that I would not
fly back... My jaw dropped to the floor as we walked into the showroom,
as it looked so much better than in pictures.
I
had seen couple of Grabber Orange stock GTs on the road, but this one
with those 20"
chromium
wheels combined with that bright color was so darn cool...!!! And of
course starting the engine for the first time - I will never forget that
feeling.. all that power and specially that roaring sound from those
2.5" double exhaust pipes was so overwhelming that the 6 month wait time
flew out of the window. I was happy. First drive itself was, as
expected, learning to use the clutch and those stiff racing gears. What
a feeling! The only modification I ended up having done was to remove
the Saleen name from the windshield because it blocked some of the view.
Being 6'3" my eyes are quite high so I felt I needed to do that.
Then
the dealer asked "you want it shipped home for free as promised or would
you like to drive it home?".. ok.. so I ended up driving 1800 miles from
Las Vegas to Nashville in 3 days and only got 1 speeding ticket in
Texas! Well... it was one of those moments when I did not, of course,
use the cruise control and so the Texas Ranger pulled me over with his
silver gray pickup truck. Other than that the home drive was perfect.
Car handled nicely and I almost did not want to stop to sleep, but just
keep on driving.
When
I got home I was very tired but very happy! After driving that beast for
4 months now I have to say that it gives me a smile on my face every
time I open the garage door and start that engine. Happy driving!
