A Toy for Big Boys

You've probably heard the saying "The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys."

Guilty as charged.

The story begins a couple weeks ago during what is a typical weekday night for me. After dinner and a few games of counterstrike, I was browsing various car sale sites (Autotrader, Cars, Craigslist, Ebay, etc.). All of a sudden I found something especially interesting on Ebay: a BMW Z4. You may or may not be familiar with the car. It's one of the cars I was sort of interested in at the time (others include the Honda S2000, BMW Z3 M Roadster, Porsche Boxster, BMW M3, and Mazda RX7). However, this Z4 wasn't just your average Z4. It was supercharged and now was about twice as powerful as stock. I was drooling. The biggest problems were that it was right at the edge of my price range ($15k) and I was sure my dad didn't want me to have a car that fast (it'd be going on his insurance :P). Anyways, it was one of several cars I bookmarked to show my dad the next time we talked, but it was more of a "Oh look at that cool car" more than a "Hey, this might be a car I should consider buying."

So, my dad calls me on Skype a few days later, and we get to looking at cars like we always do, and I bring it up halfway through. He also thinks it's awesome. He likes the whole total sleeper effect (that is, it looks like a normal Z4, but then all of a sudden it takes off like no Z4 should be able to). The car's got low mileage (~56k), complete records, etc. It's a perfect car, just too expensive. :/

Then the miracle occurs. Some dude asks him (on Ebay you can post questions on the ad to which the seller can respond to publicly) what's the lowest price he's willing to take. He says he's got it listed for $12.5k on Craigslist. $12.5k? WTF!? That's an absolute steal. You can't get a comparable (same year and mileage) stock Z4 for that price. I go to Craigslist and look. WTF!? It's posted for 15. Has this guy been hanging out with Nass or something?
I'm implying that he's HIGH
So I text him and explain my confusion about the pricing. He says that his wife changed the price to match the Ebay listing, but he'd be willing to take $12.5. WTF!? I'm psyched. I tell my dad about it. His interested is piqued. We do tons of research and talk a lot with the owner. I get the green light, with one little detail: "Offer him 11k; he'll probably counter with 11.5k." Dad have YOU been hanging out with Nass? "Just do it."

So I do it, and it works. So we agree to meet up the Saturday. One minor detail I left out: the dude's in New York. So we're flying. I've never been on a plane before. For the next week and a half, I'm basically like this (mostly because of the car, but also because I'm getting on an airplane):

It was the least productive week and a half of my life.

Anyways, the fateful Saturday comes. I wake up at 5 am to get to the airport by 6 am for my 7:40 flight. Security takes all of 3 minutes. What's with that whole "security is a pain in the ass" thing? I wait an hour for the plane. I get on the plane. The plane accelerates down the run way. Meh, I've been in faster cars. The plane lifts off into the air. Well, this is new. The plane gets a few hundred feet above the ground. Wait, that's the ground down there, and I'm up here. The plane begins to rapidly ascend. Holy shit. The plane reaches cruising altitude. Trees now look like moss on the side of a rock. Houses are the size of single pixels on your monitor. Mountains look like wrinkles on your grandmother's face. wat.

I think that pretty accurately summarizes my flying experience.

We get to Buffalo, NY and meet up with the guy at the entrance to the airport. From there, he leads us out to the parking deck where the car is. Initially, it's hidden behind other cars, and then it comes into view: HOT DAMN! It's pretty. Pretty in an aggressive, tiger-like I could eat you for breakfast kind of way. We go through the car's details together, inspect a few small flaws, and then I take it for a quick test drive around the car deck. It works as expected, so we hand over the cash and they the title, and off we go, me smiling like N64 kid might if he was forced to remain relatively calm because he was 19 and sitting next to his father. In simpler words, my smile went up to my ears, wrapped around them twice, and continue all the way to the top of my forehead.

Anyways, we drove it home over the course of two days through beautiful country. We followed the Appalachians almost all the way from New York to North Carolina. But this isn't what's important. What's important is the car itself.

Now, I know I'm the only car guy on this site, so I won't bore/confuse you with the massive list of stuff done to this car, but suffice to say the previous owner spent more than twice what I paid for the car on modifications alone.

That said, here's my impressions (translated for non-car enthusiasts):
It handles like there's a magnet under the road holding it down. It simply does not give up no matter how fast you take a turn.

Top down there's less air noise than in my 328i (a traditional sedan) with the windows down.

The car sits low to the ground. You may or may not be able to fit your shoe under it. You sit low in the car. You've got maybe 5-6 inches between your seat and the floor. This is great for a low center of gravity (which helps with handling), and it makes for an interesting driving experience. We couldn't see over the sides of bridges because of the cement barriers (and missed out on some probably awesome views). I had to practically reach straight up to reach the window at toll booths. That said, it's an awesome feeling to be sitting that low as you drive along. You feel much more a part of the car and the road.

This thing accelerates like nothing I've ever been in. To help you get an idea of how fast this car is, here's a little comparison. Now, there are two MAJOR factors in acceleration: horsepower, and weight. F=MA. The more mass you have, the slower you accelerate. The more powerful a force, the faster you accelerate.

Normal Economy Car: 3000 pounds, 130 horsepower
Normal "Family" Sedan: 3500 pounds, 170 horsepower
"Sporty" Sedan: 3500-3800 pounds (depending on the luxury), 240-280 horsepower
Honda S2000 (bonified sports car): 2800 pounds, 240 horsepower
Nissan 350Z: 3200 pounds, 300 horsepower
Porsche 911: 3300 pounds, 345 horsepower ($78K new)
Chevy Corvette: 3200 pounds, 400 horsepower (~$60k new)
Audi R8: 3450 pounds, 414 horsepower (~$115k new)
Ferrari California: 3800 pounds, 450 horsepower ($192k new)

My BMW Z4 3.0i: 3000 pounds, 380 horsepower.

It's faster than all of those. On top of that, the way the supercharger used on it works, the torque is instantly available, there's no build up like in a normal car. Basically, this thing will motherfucking MOVE! I've never experienced anything like it. It's just so damn FAST.

Pics:

It gets a fair bit of attention, too. I mean, it's no Ferrari or Lamborghini, but I've gotten plenty of winks, waves, and stares.

Kids may be able to appreciate simple pleasures better than us, but who cares when you get to play with a BAMF of a car.

HELP!

I'm trying to think up stuff for a vanity plate. Preferably 4 characters (limit on special plates), but if it's awesome enough 7 characters is okay too.

So far I've thought of the following:

INL6 (For inline six, the type of engine in the car; probably the front runner)
RASP (For the BMW "rasp" that can be heard from a BMW's exhaust)
WHNR (for "Whiner;" superchargers make a high pitched whine that tips off the observant listener and sounds pretty sweet)

If you can think of anything, post it in the comments, por favor.