Although once popular as a means to raise money for public and private building projects, lotteries were banned by the United States Congress in the 1890s. In 1964, the New Hampshire Legislature found a way around the statutes and created the first state-operated lottery in America. Today, a total of 43 states generate billions of dollars a year through daily games, scratch-off cards, and jackpots that have paid out as much as $390 million on a single draw.
With the purchase of every ticket, many of us dream about using enormous and instant wealth to buy a nicer house, send family members to college, travel, and assemble one awesome car collection. Studies show these are the common elements of a typical lottery fantasy.
If speed and eye appeal are top priorities, a $46,600 Porsche Boxster, with its 255-horsepower flat-six engine, is considered the “entry level” dream car, and the prices only go up from there. Without leaving the Porsche showroom, it’s possible to spend as much as $160,000 on a new 911 Turbo S, although a half-million will pick up a slightly used 2004-06 Carrera GT roadster with V-10 power.
Clearly, the Italians do not have a word that means “budget,” because the cheapest Ferrari – the 460-horsepower California with retractable hardtop – starts at $188,000. Ferrari’s current top model is the $314,000 612 Scaglietti, whose 5.7-liter V-12 turns out 540 horsepower. Next door, the Lamborghini dealership is offering its new V-10 Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni for $220,000. Someone looking to spend lottery winnings as quickly as possible will go for Lambo’s $450,000 Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce with a 670-horsepower V-12 that runs zero-to-60 in 3.0 seconds on its way to 212 miles per hour. The top of the Italian supercar heap belongs to Bugatti, whose Veyron Grand Sport 16.4 roadster (with a 1,000-horsepower quadruple-turbocharged V-16) fetches a mind-blowing $2.0 million.
Comfort and status make an expensive luxury sedan a must-have for every lottery fantasy. Legendary automaker Jaguar has a beautiful new XF that retails for $52,000, but that’s peanuts when your Powerball ticket matches all six numbers; consider, instead, the XKR convertible with a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 for $102,000.
Aston Martin, whose $270,000 DBS with V-12 power has been the sexy co-star of the last two James Bond films, just introduced its first four-door sedan: the $198,000 Rapide, whose 6.0-liter V-12 produces 470 horsepower. Porsche also plans to appeal to maturing sports car drivers with its new $133,000 Panamera Turbo four-door. Standard bearers in this segment include Mercedes-Benz (the $110,000 CL-Class) and BMW (the $108,000 M6 convertible), but nothing suggests obscene amounts of money in the bank like a Rolls-Royce. R-R’s Phantom line comprises a four-door sedan ($380,000), drophead coupé ($443,000), and two-door coupé ($408,000), but the hottest Rolls is currently the $245,000 Ghost sedan powered by a twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter, 563-horsepower V-12 and wearing cutting-edge styling.
More than a half-dozen fantasy-worthy cars will be displayed during the April 8-11 Food Lion AutoFair at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including a Rolls-Royce Ghost, Lamborghini Murciélago, Ferrari 599, Maserati GranCabrio, and Aston Martin DBS. Other AutoFair attractions include the world’s most advanced amphibious car, a 50th anniversary celebration of Chevrolet’s Corvair, and a patriotic display of vintage military vehicles. The Food Lion AutoFair annually attracts more than 160,000 visitors. It features 50-plus car club displays; more than 10,000 vendor spaces that offer a plethora of automotive parts and memorabilia; and a collector car auction conducted by Dealer Auctions Inc. More than 1,500 collectible vehicles of all makes and models will be available for sale in the car corral that rings the 1.5-mile superspeedway.
AutoFair hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; children under 12 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Parking for the event is $5. For more information on the four-day event, contact the speedway events department at (704) 455-3205 or visit the website at www.gospeedway.com.
