The next day.
In one of the famous beach-front hotels that Miami was famous for, Virgil was doing the typical tourist thing and enjoying the native sights, particularly the swimsuit-clad kind. He stood at the edge of his hotel room's balcony and inside the rest of his crew was hanging out, enjoying the morning with a quick take-out breakfast, some Saturday-morning cartoons on the TV and a few girls they managed to charm into their company the night before. Virgil was wondering why he chose Nevada instead of this. Maybe because at the time it was easier to make money there than anywhere else.
Yes, money was so easy to get back then. It almost poured into his hands. But he learned so enough that opportunities like that don't come without interest. People like Alex taught him that lesson as well as other people whom he can identify but it was always that damn boy who he thought had started it all.
Back then he was the king of the streets of Nevada. Nobody could beat him on the blacktop. His skills were legendary. But then this unassuming little car-junkie popped out of nowhere. He didn't give the guy much thought. Hardly anybody did. But over the next few months this kid got himself a reputation. He started proving himself out there, making friends and enemies alike. It wasn't too long before Virgil himself had to face with him.
He underestimated him. Much like how everybody underestimated him. That was the first time Virgil ever met anyone who can face him as an equal. And so the saga went.
Both Virgil and Alex found ways to respect each other's skill. They raced each other numerous times each pushing the other to further limits that they didn't see before. For Alex, it was refreshing to find someone like Virgil. Someone he could really be challenged with. Someone who can count on to always give him a run for his money. As for Virgil, Alex was something of an oddity he wanted to get rid of. Like a mole on the wrong part of your face. Something he made his mission to surpass beyond anyone's doubt.
The two exchanged victories and defeats but they always got back up from every match-up they had and in the end they ended up in a league of their own. However, Virgil was too ambitious to be satisfied with just that. He wanted more. So he decided to do what he knew Alex couldn't beat him at. He went into organized crime and made money out of it. Alex had no interest in such thing and Virgil was simply left to his own devices. His ambition paid off as he started amassing cash and lots of it. He soon discovered that he could be superior to Alex outside racing. He was living the highlife.
Until everything went downhill.
Those damned slime balls. They cheated him. Narc'd him out. He nearly lost everything. Not just him. Even his most annoying rival lost something precious. And he had to laugh at the current state of things. It seemed he now had to depend on that old rival of his so that they could both get what they want.
"Yo boss," called out one man on a laptop. "Check this out!"
Virgil knew what is was before he walked over to the man. He looked down on the screen and smiled with pleasure at what he saw. His man was logged into the secure on Ultimate Street team viewer and Virgil found himself looking at his own team.
Team Name: Wyldcardz
Leader: Alex Cooper
Car: Nissan Silvia (S15)
Member 1: Suki Aiko
Car: Honda S2000 (AP1)
Member 2: Kate Williams
Car: Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GD)
Member 3: Roman Pearce
Car: 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda
"Looks like they decided to take your invitation, boss," said the man.
"Like Alex had any other choice. Besides. I know him and his old friends enough to know that those two have always been on the ambitious side. No way were they gonna pass up on that offer."
"Are you sure they can really win this?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, He's the most talent I've seen behind the wheel. I don't know too many people who can stand up to him, except maybe for that bald guy who used to be the street racing king in LA and that ex-cop that passed by out turf in the Dodge Stealth."
"They have some tough competition ahead of them. I mean look at all these other teams. Some of them, pretty much cake walk for our guys. But others here have reputations. Good ones and bad ones."
"Really?...Show me."
Virgil concentrated on the screen of the computer as his man browsed the rest of the already registered teams in the tournament.
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El Paso, Texas.
Somewhere on the outskirts of the city, the howling of the dry winds across the vast mountain ranges were no match for the sound of thundering V8 engines that echoed from the hard, sandy ground. On one long stretch of open earth, two generations of the premier American muscle car raced alongside each other exceeding any allowable speed the law could tolerate.
On the right was a 1964 Pontiac GTO. The sleek, aqua blue, two-door sports coupe glimmered in the afternoon sun like is rolled out of the showroom floor two minutes ago. Indeed, this masterpiece of a car was restored lovingly by its owner into a beast that will dominate anything on the streets as he would see it. The GTO's triple two-barrel-carburetor, 389-cid V-8 engine was not only restored with mostly all-original performance parts like metallic drum brake linings, limited slip differential, heavy-duty cooling, ride and handling package, and the 4-speed manual transmission, but the engine was also tuned to new heights.
While being restored, it was bored and tricked for added displacement. Larger, custom-made 4 inch, aluminum cylinder head with accompanying combustion chamber from Edelbrock were put in giving the car at least 30 percent more grunt to it. added to that were a Performer 4-bbl 800 cfm carburetor with electric choke, Victor aluminum intake manifold, dual inlet fuel lines, fuel filters, all from Edelbrock. And on top of all of that, an Edelbrock supercharger that brought the total engine output at around 650 hp.
On the left, was a 2004 Pontiac GTO. The midnight blue sports coupe was decorated in conservative but still good-looking white racing stripes over the top of the body and across the side. The modern muscle car featured under the hood a modern V8 tuned with an ATI ProCharger Intercooled Serpentine Race Kit with D-1SC Supercharger which put it pretty close to the range of its 40 year old senior driving next to it.
The two cars stormed across the hot, sandy ground reaching break-neck speeds of over 150 mph, kicking up a msit of dirt in their wake. In the distance. Two other guys standing next t their respective cars, a 2008 Dodge Challenger and a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The one with the Challenger was a young looking man of South-American origin while the one with the Corvette was a young woman with those average 'farmer's daughter' looks. They watched as the two cars came thundering towards them, not slowing down until they were less that a hundred yards away.
The two generations of GTO's slammed on the brakes a short distance away from their friends and came to a halt around ten feet from where the other two were standing. The engines rumbled on idle for a minute before the drivers turned off their cars and stepped out. From the old GTO came out a tall well built man with short, crew-cut, blond hair. He stood tall over his car, the roof barely over his waistline. From the modern GTO stepped out a younger looking man who looked to be fresh out of college with his unkempt blond hair.
The younger man looked towards the taller. "So, Derek," he said. "Think she's ready?"
The tall man, Derek, looked towards the younger for a long moment before his lips curved into a satisfied smile. "Oh, yes, little brother," he said. "She's ready."
The rest of the group quickly smiled in response. "Think this'll be our year?" asked the girl.
"Why not?" said the Challenger driver. "With all the muscle we're packing, we'll have the rest of the completion on their knees in no time."
Team Name: Thunder Hall
Leader: Derek Lynn
Car: 1964 Pontiac GTO
Member 1: Carl Lynn
Car: 2006 Pontiac GTO
Member 2: Victor Marquez
Car: 2008 Dodge Challenger
Member 3: Alexia Manson
Car: Chevrolet Corvette Z06
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San Francisco, California.
At the large parking spaces in an around Marina Blvd, in the dead of night a different ballet of sorts was taking place. Lighted only by the surrounding street lamps and the headlights of audience's cars, a wildly styled, red and black Mazda RX-7 and Nissan 350Z performed highly entertaining doughnuts on the black top. Around the performing car were loads of other cars, street racers by the way they were all decked out.
The RX-7 was decked out in a Veilside 'Fortune' widebody kit that completely transformed the car into a form totally unlike a stock FD RX-7. The styling was made even wilder by the crazy psychedelic graphics spray painted all over the cars body that managed to be both extreme but still marginally tasteful in terms of style. Capping off the extreme style was a set of 17" silver Akita Racing AK4 rims at the front and 18" Akita Racing AK3 rims in the back. Highlighting all this extreme styling was bright red neon light eliminating the road under the car
The 350 Z was decked out in a Veilside Ver. III widebody kit that made the 350Z look more aggressive than a the normal body. Accenting the body was a set of 18" MR2488 rims from Motegi Wheels. Sty;ing the body was the same matching psychedelic graphics and bright red neon.
Music was blaring hip-hop beats across the lot as many of the young crowds of mixed races steadily danced together to the beats. On the boulevard itself a race was starting between a non-descript Honda Civic Type-R and a new Mitsubishi Eclipse GT that was equally extremely styled as the RX-7.
The Eclipse GT was sporting an Extreme Dimensions 'Demon' body kit with an added drag style APR carbon fiber adjustable spoiler and a set of 18" 301 C Cubed rims. The whole body was styled similarly to the RX-7 and 350Z and even had the same neon under the body which obviously appeased the crowd around it.
A random person stepped out of the crowd and served as the makeshift flag bearer for the race. When he stepped into the middle of the two cars he removed his cap from his head and raised it up for both drivers to see. Both drivers revved their engines to signal that they were ready. With a simple flick of the wrist, the dude in the middle tossed his cap up onto the air. The moment the cap touched the ground at the dude's feet, both cars took off with all the power they had.
The race would consist of a single lap around Marina Blvd. From the start the highly tuned Eclipse gained the upper hand taking a huge lead over the Civic. The driver of the Civic tried every trick he knew in the book but it was a struggle in vain all the way. By the time the race was half-way done, the Eclipse has built an insurmountable lead over 4 car-lengths ahead of the Civic.
The race eventually ended and the Eclipse did a stylish finish by powersliding across the finish line. The Civic crossed the line about four seconds later. The driver of the Eclipse stepped out of the car and revealed herself to be a young Japanese teen wearing fashions almost as crazy as her car. The crowd sheered for her and the Civic driver could barely make eye-contact as he approached her.
"Pay up," she said simply while extending a hand.
The Civic driver quickly dug out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it to her then quickly walked back to his car and drove off, not wanting to live off his defeat for the rest of the night. The Eclipse driver raised her cash up in the air like a trophy calling forth some more cheers from the crowd.
From the side, the RX-7 and 350Z drivers were out of their cars and watching the Eclipse. Both drivers were young Japanese men also dressed in wild fashions. Moments later a new car joins the group as the crowd parts to let it through. The two drivers turned to see their fourth teammate enter the scene.
The car that entered the scene was an 2005 Acura RSX decked out in a VIS Racing Z1000 bodykit and a set of 18" 25B Jet model rims from ICW Racing. Again, the wild styling was prominent across the whole body of the car, similar to the Eclipse, RX-7 and 350Z. The driver stepped out and was revealed to be another young Japanese girl with short black hair.
"What I miss?" asked the RSX driver.
"Oh, not much," replied the RX-7 driver. "Just Rikku showing off again." He pointed to the Eclipse driver still celebrating her victory.
"She seems more uppity than usual."
"Of course," said the 350Z driver. "She thinks we'll win Ultimate Street."
"What makes you think we won't?"
Team Name: Mad Stylez
Leader: Ryosuke Takeshi
Car: Mazda RX-7 (FD)
Member 1: Rikku Minami
Car: Mitsubishi Eclipse GT (4G)
Member 2: Aki Otohime
Car: 2005 Acura RSX
Member 3: Sato Minoru
Car: Nissan 350Z
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Commerce City, Colorado.
At the Second Creek Raceway, which was normally unused for most of the year aside from a few race days and the occasional meets of auto clubs, was currently playing host to an unusual bunch. The group consisted of several people on the pit lane along with three mean-looking cars. The three cars were a Skyline GT-R R33, a Lancer Evo VI and an Audi S3.
All three of the cars, for the most part, looked stock. The Silver R33 Skyline retained its factory body and rear spoiler but with added Nismo competition rims. The bright red Lan Evo VI also featured nothing but its signature factory body kit and spoiler. Only the yellow S3 looked different than from when it came out of the factory by sporting a custom molded carbon fiber hood. Despite the lack of styling, the cars featured several aftermarket company stickers on the side of the doors and hoods, indicating that the non-descript body shells hid underneath them true-blue road racing machines.
Nothing proved that more than the one car that was on the track at that moment.
Circling the track in a red hot lap was a midnight blue Comptech tuned Acura NSX. The sound of that highly tuned, supercharged DOHC V6 echoed throughout the track. As it approached the start/finish line, the group at the pit lane watched the car as it approached with scrutiny. Waiting at the line was a young woman with a stopwatch running and an itchy thumb at the lap button.
The NSX crossed the finish line at full speed, and the young lady instantly slammed down on the lap button. The NSX did a powerslide in the end, bringing up a lot of smoke from its tires. As it drove back up to the lady who was timing the other people in the pit lane started to move in closer.
"He did quite well, I think" said the S3 driver, a young black man who looked around twenty.
"That's a Pro Racer for you," said the Skyline driver in a heavy British accent. "Ain't that right, Mark?"
The Evo driver, Mark, didn't say anything. The NSX stopped in front of the lady and the driver, a middle-aged black man who looked thirty-something and dressed in racer overalls and a helmet, stepped out.
"What's the time?" he asked her with a stern voice.
"You're back to 86.143 seconds from the last few laps," she replied "You improved your last lap by about second-an-a-half. Looks like stiffening up those rear springs seem to be helping a bit. Wanna adjust those rear shocks again?"
"No, the rear shocks are fine. The front's not diggin' in hard enough."
"Got it then, maybe the tires are too hard. I'll get right on it."
The girl motioned for some of the other people in the back. Together they gathered around the NSX with tools in hand to make what was probably the tenth adjustment to the NSX that day.
The Evo VI driver, a younger looking man, suddenly stepped up. "You're not satisfied yet? That's the best lap out of yours today. I say you're not gonna make anymore improvements today."
The NSX driver gave him a stern look. "No, we don't stop working. The car can still be faster."
"Why do you always insist it's the car that needs to be faster and not--" He stopped himself in the middle of his sentence but the message was already delivered. Everybody stopped what they were doing and quickly turned to the Mark and the NSX driver who were now staring each other down.
"What did you say to me?" asked the NSX driver to his obvious junior.
The Evo VI driver didn't back down. "You heard what I said. The car's fine. You should focus on improving other aspects of your game. I'm not saying you suck, Allen, but--"
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?! I've been a five year consecutive champion at Battle Machine and Super Promotion! I've been to the best racing schools and learned from the best!"
"All of that mean dick o the street. This competition is not pro racing. This is down and dirty street racing. Rushing us into the tournament like this was wrong."
"There you go again with those damn 'street smarts' of yours. I don't need you to teach me any of you street crap."
"You're right. You don't need me to teach you. Ultimate Street will teach it for you. And I'll be there to bail this team out…again."
Mark the Evo VI driver then started to walk away leaving the rest of the group in silence. Allen the NSX driver stood there contemplating Mark's words and promised himself that he wouldn't be proven wrong.
Team Name: SpeedProduction
Leader: Allen Redfield
Car: 1999 Acura NSX-T
Member 1: Mark Langford
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI
Member 2: Oliver Sanders
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33)
Member 3: Matt Anderson
Car: Audi S3 (8P)
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San Diego, California.
On one of the more scenic locations of an already bustling tourist city, Mission Bay was as close to being the Miami Beaches of the west coast as they got. Like the beaches of Miami, Mission bay was home to sun, surf, sand, and even the occasional show-off speed demons. However here in Mission Bay, there was a group that was a cut above the rest.
Parked close to the sand, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, were a bright green Porsche 911 and a black Mercedes-Benz CLK.
Sitting atop the front end of the 911 was a young black woman dressed in designer street clothes and had short brown hair that most pop idols would envy. She was operating on a laptop computer. Her companion, a young Chinese woman dressed in a more conservative get-up with long black hair was contempt at simply staring out into the ocean.
"How's it looking, Amy," asked the girl standing next to the CLK.
"Looks like some competition are participating this year," replied the girl on the 911, "I know some of these teams. They have pretty formidable reputations. Still, nothing we can't handle, girl."
"Are you sure about that?"
"With what we've got," she tapped the hood of her car, "None of these guys can come close. The degree of performance we'll bring into the tournament can't be matched."
"I'm starting to wonder if that's all we'll need."
The conversation of the two was interrupted by the sound of two more engines rumbling. Both girls looked up and spotted the source of the sounds. Pulling up to them were two other of the some of the most exotic cars money can buy. The first car that parked alongside them was a black Aston Martin. The second car was a bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo.
From out of the Aston Martin, stepped out a well-trimmed man with a pale complexion and blond hair that obviously came from a salon somewhere. From out of the Gallardo stepped out another woman again dressed good enough for the Ritz.
"How is she?" asked Amy, the 911 driver.
The Lady standing next to the Gallardo lightly tapped the engine cover of her car. "Purring like a kitten," she replied.
"I swear, girls," said the Aston Martin driver in an unusually high-pitched tone. "This year will be ours. Ultimate Street is in the bag."
"I wouldn't make assumptions so early, Steven," said the CLK driver. "You mustn't underestimate the other competitors just because we got all the best equipment."
"Oh, honey, please. Who out there can possibly stand up to these kinds of cars? Do you know anyone? Cause I sure don't."
The CLK driver was silent for a moment. A single name popped up in her head. "Yeah, I know one."
Team Name: Premier Street
Leader: Lisa Jacobson
Car: Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
Member 1: Amy Maxwell
Car: Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series
Member 2: Loraine Masters
Car: Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Member 3: Steven Cannes
Car: Aston Martin DBS
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Somewhere in Arizona.
Along I-19, there was a small roadside diner out in the middle of just about nowhere. The nearest urban area was a couple hundred miles away and all that one could see from ere was bits of mountains a desert grass in any direction one would look. Normally, a diner such as this would cater mostly to truck drivers and vacationing families.
How unusual was it to find three, highly modified, tuner cars parked outside.
The first car was a reborn, modern American classic; a 2005 Shelby Cobra GT500, looking real sharp with is factory bright cherry-red paint and white racing stripes. Stickers on the side indicate some further tuning was involved somehow in making an already awesome car into something really formidable.
Next to that was a Germany's own modern touring classic, a 2003 BMW M3 CSL. While an ordinary M3 was a good enough car, This navy blue CSL was the lightweight, hardcore version. With dramatically reduced weight and super-hard suspension this car was a mountain of performance that not just anyone can handle. An aftermarket paintjob consisted of a glossy navy blue finish and white, wavy checkered flag graphics on the side gave it a nice racy look.
Lastly, a staple of Japanese power, a jet black Toyota Supra. From first impressions the car meant business. Modified with all original TRD components including a revised body kit for better aerodynamics, 18" TRD sports MAG rims, and a ventilated hood, not to mention all the added stuff underneath that hood. The mean-looking Supra was styled with a jet-black paint scheme accented by bright red lines that ran wildly across the body.
Inside the diner, the only three customers, dining on some waffles and lemonade, were presumably the drivers of the these three high-performance cars. Two men and one woman who can all be identifiable by their clothing which indicated which ca they owned. The first guys was a middle-aged Filipino in his early thirties wearing a black Selby Cobra windbreaker. The second man was a British teen was wearing a TRD shirt. The woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties and all-American wore a blue jacket with the M3 badge stitched over the left breast pocket.
"I'm telling you," said the young Supra driver, "I'm not sure about this plan of yours, Manny."
"What are you so nervous about, Marcus?" said the Shelby driver. "I told you, I know the guy. I can vouch for him. Sure he's had a rough past but I'm telling you he's a good man and he won't let us down."
"I can believe that. But what I can't quite grasp is how good you make him out to be on the track. I mean, this is Ultimate Race after all. We need the best guys on our team."
"Don't worry, he's as good as I say he is. You'll get the chance to see him in action soon."
"I hope so too," said the M3 driver. "We've been planning this gig for a long time now. Plus, after checking out the competition…I'm really prayin' this guy's got what it takes."
"Well, it's no surprise competition will be stiff, considering the level of this tournament."
"Manny, you're the best driver around here. I know what you can do but I'm still not sure you're enough to get us as far as we need to go."
"Don't sell yourselves short now. You guys are pretty good too. And that's also the reason why we hired this friend of mine. For extra insurance. Once you see what he can do, you'll see that--"
They were interrupted by the sound of an approaching engine. They all looked out the window towards the south. In the distance they could see a small dust cloud being kicked up in the wake of a speeding vehicle. The group of three waited and watched for almost half-a-minute as the car made its way to the front of the diner. Once they got a clear view of it, Manny, the Shelby driver, grinned with satisfaction.
The Car in question was a silver Nissan GT-R V-Spec II Nür, one of the ultimate incarnations of the legendary Japanese touring car. It's the engine that sets the Nür apart from any other Skyline. It is based on the N1 racing unit which has a specifically prepared block, pistons and connecting rods and a special edition speedometer that went all the way to 300 km/h. With a little bit of tuning, the Nür could very well produce over 600 bhp. Steh bright silver body of the Skyline was accented by a combination of blue double racing stripes running accros the hood and blue checkered flag graphics slanting up the side of the car.
The driver of the car, a handsome-looking young man wearing, appropriately enough, a NISMO tagged polo shirt, stepped out of the car and made a bee-line for the diner entrance. As soon as he entered he was met the diner's only waitress who eyed him for a long moment like a piece of candy. He didn't seem to mind.
"What can I get you, stranger?" asked the waitress.
"Tuna on white," said Brian O'Conner. "No crust, please."
Team Name: Project 75
Leader: Manny San Diego
Car: 2005 Shelby Cobra GT500
Member 1: Brian O'Conner
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) V-Spec II Nür
Member 2: Linda Ames
Car: BMW M3 CSL (E46)
Member 3: Marcus Strauss
Car: Toyota Supra (Mk. IV)
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Author's note: Finally got back to writing this story. Been too damn busy lately. Hope you like the new developments so far. As usual, pls R&R!