Snapped a cameraphone pic of this little number Friday afternoon on Hargett St. in Downtown Raleigh. It’s a new Lamborghini Gallardo which, according to some friends who work in the area, has been spotted quite regularly down there. It’s 512 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque will rocket you from 0-60 mph in just over 4 seconds and will leave your wallet a cool $175,000 – $195,000 lighter.
Not to be outdone, a couple of days later in the exact same block, someone else (presumably) parked a new Rolls Royce Phantom, a massive car which is nearly double the price of the Lambo ($329,000). Granted, we do have a RR dealer in Raleigh now, but it is still a bit rattling to see such a pricey car parked downtown.
So, if exotic cars can possibly be used as a gauge to measure a city’s "Real City-ness," I’d say we’re making some good progress!
But seriously, I mostly just wanted to post a picture of a really cool car.
Well I now know which area to stalk if I want to steal a car!
if thats the definition of a real city then we are up there. i’ve seen multiple ferrari’s, lotus’s, and maserati’s on glenwood. Even spotted an aston martin vanquish in front of helios.
I know the guys at Epic Games (makers of video game like Unreal Tournament and the newly released Gears of War) have a couple Ferraris and Lambos, maybe even a Lotus now that I think about it. Considering the number of million dollar homes in the area its only logical that the cars will be here too.
Brand new Ferrari F430 Spider seen numerous times coming and going on Harvey St in Hayes Barton… also parked in front of Evoo and Sullivan’s
LOL, this means nothing – my parent’s neighbors in Washington, NC (yes, “Little Washington”) have a Ferrari
I hate to break it to you. Cars are not the measure of, “are we a real city yet”.
How do I know this????? (good question)
I grew up in High Point, NC. High Point has had a Rolls Royce dealership for over 20 years.
Anyone willing to say that is the measure of a REAL CITY now???????
Anyone?
That is what I thought….
Cool cars tho!!!
Yes, the maserati’s run the Glenwood strip daily. There were a pair of lotus elise’s that I enjoyed watching on Glenwood and Oakwood for a while end of last year, but I haven’t seen them since. It’s fun to be in a town big enough to have these cars, but small enough to recognize them and guess who the owners are.
0-60 in 4 seconds…and what road around here can you find to test that. More like 0-to the back of a car in 4 seconds. I do have to say it is quite a nice car and I would love to give it a spin.
Raleigh is great enough on it own. We don’t need over-priced vehicles cruising the streets to make us a legitimate city. In fact, I hope through all our progress, we can maintain our approachable, lovable, southern feel. That’s why people have been coming to our area in droves for years. Not because of the cars parked on its newly-renovated streets.
I agree that the picture is of a cool car. And if that were the measure of a “real city”, then we could say we are on our way. I would be curious how we all would define a “real city”.
The first thought that came to mind is that Raleigh is already a real city, just not a major U.S. or world city. We have a core (growing and not as lame as it used to be), and some local home-grown culture (as in ideas, restaurants, theaters).
But if real city is more of a frame of mind, I would think we would be there when we stop asking the question. Circular?
For some metrics – maybe when the ratio of independent local restaurants/stores surpasses national chains? We are not close.
Or maybe when you mention the city and someone from another state says something more than “I heard that is a nice place to live.” When we have an identity.
Thanks for the post.
I have seen quite few Elises and Lambos and even a Maybach once on 440. Raleigh is certainly on the upward movement. Love it.
The only Rolls dealer in NC is now in Raleigh. It shares a showroom with Leith BMW. There is no longer an official Rolls dealer in High Point. Not even a dealer in Charlotte.
If a “real city” is one in which new money flexes it’s artificially tanned muscles for the sake of self promotion, we’re well on our way…
Real city dwellers walk.
I saw a 1989 Volvo the other day at Wellspring.
I’m with Ron and Betsy on this one. When we can walk to places that give the area an identity on at least a national level (forget INTERnational for now) — we will then be considered a city. Presumably this will be done by the “Considerate it a City” Police.
@AndyO
“0-60 in 4 seconds…and what road around here can you find to test that.”
Any entrance ramp to 540 at any time of day other than morning/evening rush hour. It doesn’t take that much space.
There’s been a Lamborghini parked on freaking Hillsborough Street many times in the past month. It is always in front of the former (and future) Raleigh Joe’s. I believe it is the same car. With all the students walking by and taking pics with their camera phones, it’s probably the most photographed landmark in the state.
Gallardos are a little more common than most people think. That’s not to say you can spot one just anywhere, but it doesn’t surprise me at all to see one in Raleigh. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear there are a few others in the area. And let’s not forget about the highly visible Ferrari dealership along I-40 down the road in Greensboro.
Do I think cars make the “city”? Not really… I see enough Benzes, Lexuses (“Lexii”, perhaps?) and Bimmers around town during the day that give Raleigh a cosmopolitan feel about it. I think when we have a downtown (or at least an area) that has an all-hours appeal about it – where you can go out for an impromptu overnight stroll, grab a coffee, a bite to eat, and do some people watching… now that’s “big city” to me.
I’ll feel like this is a “real city” if next spring most of the cafe seating on Fayetteville Street is occupied from, oh, 4:30 PM until midinght or one most nights.
That feels like a city–Paris, San Francisco, London. I guess I’m picturing much the same thing as Matt K. The best thing, though, will be when we can quit asking and just know. Personally, I’m getting close to there.
I have seen the lamborghini a few times downtown in the city market area. I also saw the Rolls Royce come in and park in the parking lot while I was at the Jersey Mike’s on Peace
Until we get a light rail – and keep in busy because we NEED one – we are pretenders. Sorry. I love Raleigh but I’ve lived in New York, Boston, and Chicago – we’re pretending. But – truthfully – that’s just fine with me.
When Raleigh actually becomes a “real city,” people will no longer write in telling others where they saw an exotic sports car.
YES on the rail system! Good point.
I bet a lot of those sweet cars belong to Hurricanes.
That car belongs to Mr. Poindexter. He is a bondsman (i.e., armed) so I wouldn’t suggest trying to steal it.
ha, actually i’m going to retract my statement. forget cars, once we can have raleigh style pizza, THEN we are a real city, hahaha
(Sitting back watching the ruckus around my silly little fun… if only I would just learn how to be Switzerland… oh shucks…)
Anyway, just found this little video… perhaps we should be happy that we’re a big enough city not to warrant this kind of police car? I’d much rather be taking pics of these things than trying to outrun them!
During the late 80′s, someone in Raleigh went around in a Delorean. THAT was always a fun sighting.
Just wanted to point out that Raleigh’s populaion is a lot larger than lets say London during the time of Charles Dickens. Not that this means anything but London was a real city then wasn’t it. Also I know that the person who was talking about Boston and New York wasn’t being snotty but honestly those cities are so boring and predictable. I feel like the Clash a bit but I am so bored with New York.
Actually, the population of London in Dickens’ time (around 1840) was about 2 million, or 7 times Raleigh’s population today (276,000).
But your point is well taken — a city’s population isn’t necessarily any indicator of its cultural sophistication or urban experience. Look at Montpelier VT (pop. around 8000) versus Jacksonville, Florida (shudder).
LMAO @ Dana. The real issue is why can’t US cars have more names like Vanquish? All we have are animals like Rams and Broncos. Where are the Gazelles? And the Mongooses?! Yeah I drive a 40 cylinder Nyquil.
276,000 was Raleigh’s population about 6 or 7 years ago, at the time of the 2000 census… while that is “official”, it is certainly not the population today. The current estimated population supposedly surpassed the 350,000 mark in the last month, and it could be very close to 400,000 by the time the 2010 census rolls around, at the current migratory rate. Even that number is misleading though, given the Wake population, which lies between 600K-700K people. I’m wondering how long the current growth rate will hold as areas fill in – and as a result, developers will continue to create density with more condos and taller buildings downtown – that will definitely lend to more of a “city” feel to Raleigh.
This car parks in the lot where my children attend daycare so I see it almost every day and for over a month now the sideview mirror has been broken off- most likely stolen. Maybe it has to be special ordered but I would think the owner would want this “sweet” ride in 100% working order ASAP!
Hi guys, any of you all know where any car clubs gather?
PS- I’m one of those a-hole expensive car drivers, and the guys with cars like mine are the least of your concern. Who you should really be worried about is the robot-cyborg-pleasantville people in Treyburn, Preston, McGregor, The Barony, Linville, and the list goes on.
BTW, I was walking back from CapFit–uh, I mean Peak–when I spotted a Ford GT parked on Glenwood Ave next to the Hibernian Pub. This is a fairly rare car, with only 4,000 models ever built (production has now ended). In case you were wondering, it costs around $150k (probably worth more), has 550 hp, and runs 0-60 in 3.3 sec up to a top speed of 205 mph!!!
Raleigh entered the top 50 city in the US list last year. I have seen figures of 465k and even over 900k for the metropolitan area. I think one would think of Raleigh of a city just as someone would probably think of Cary as a town, and that seems to go beyond mere population. Raleitgh is a state capital with state government, high tech companies, universities, hospitals, two professional teams and, most importantly, industry and commerce not centered around any specific aspect of people’s lives. Otherwise it would be considered a “college town” or the place that exists simply because XYZ company is based there.
A downtown nightlife seems to be the missing piece of the puzzle to me, and it might be coming.
As far as expensive cars go, a fool and his money are soon parted. Rarely are they a good investment and are usually a terrible one in my opinion.
David, you are incorrect about expensive cars being a bad investment. I’ve had many expensive cars and I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of each and every one of them. Then when I went to sell them, they had depriciated less than any normalcar out there. It’s only a bad investment if you are broke and can’t afford one, and then you should be focusing more on your life than your car anyways.
i have a video of that lambo lol..
i tried to upload it to youtube but, my phone is the samsung that flips.. the Upstage..and the video format is not supported by youtube…sad….
and byw, i know the guy who owns the yellow ferrari and the RR..His name is German …he owns some night clubs here…like the “Red Room” in DownTown..
lol i know him cus we played paintball together…
also i saw the lambo Diablo at downtown too…
man raleigh is full of nice cars!!