Yes, part of my dream has become a reality. TheMaskedSpaz was kind enough to let me see the car as well as take me for a spin. I was initially expecting a quick run around the block, but he decided to take it into a canyon which I often ride with motorcycle. Now I have a pretty good idea of what a quick pace on a bike is for this canyon- it is very tight with several hairpins- it requires maximum lean angle and damn heavy braking. Prior to entering the canyon he pulled over to tell me, "No matter what forces you feel, no matter how fast you think we are going, this will not be half the speed that this car will do." Right, right, whatever- I have a little 944, I thought, so I know what a descent handling car feels like. I imagined that I would be decently impressed with the car, but I was in for a colossal surprise.
Coming into the first turn I thought he had overestimated the brakes. Just great, this guy doesn't know how to drive worth garbage and now he's going to crash this beautiful car trying to show off. I was sure we were going to understeer into the canyon wall- there was no way the tires could keep their cool in an uncomfortably tight turn at these speeds. To my utter astonishment the car changed directions as fast as the steering wheel did. There was not a single hiccup in the chassis, there was only a beautiful display of synergy between poise and grip. While being firmly pressed into the right side of the seat, Masked began to power out of the apex. Here is when I thought he hugely underestimated the power; I was sure the back would break loose and we would go into a spin. Again to my astonishment the tires hardly have a chirp as the supercharger screamed up the hill. The same thing happened in every turn. I was absolutely blown away. I would have never even considered throwing a bike into these turns at half the speed the Atom was attacking them. A C7 Z06 handles like it is on rails; the Atom puts "on rails" to the way side and demands that the English language reconsiders its significance in describing such performance.
The Atom found my expectations and shattered them right before my eyes; it humiliated me for my ignorance of true performance. This car has destroyed the pleasure of driving for me. I will never be able to sit behind a steering wheel of another car and enjoy myself knowing fully well that I could be sitting behind a different steering wheel of a very different car. The Atom has made other cars wholly insignificant.
It is that good.
TheMaskedSpaz on the other hand: creepy as hell.
