In the virtual world of Second Life you can have whatever you want. It’s a Sims world where you can show everyone what you’d like to have in your first life if you could afford it. It’s conspicuous would-be consumption.
The limit? What money you’re willing to fork over for a a virtual piece of the rock, and the time and skill you’re willing to put into showing off. SL is a perfect fit for graphic artists: designers, architects or programmers. Those of us in need of those skills in the virtual showcase can hire them. I’ve seen some incredible objects in Second Life, fantastic houses, super sleek planes, even a submarine. Super modern conveyances, but I haven’t seen the perfect car.
What would make the ideal car in SL, a virtual world without physical constraints, where you can’t even enjoy the ride?
In Second Life, transport itself is a non-starter. In SL you can teleport anywhere, you can breath underwater, and you can fly. The sharper homes don’t even bother with stairs or elevators, of what purpose is any vehicle? What purpose? the aforementioned got-one factor.
The ultimate SL ride is therefore no debate. It’s the Jaguar D-type. Only six were ever built. Fresh out of the factory they placed first, second and fourth in the 1956 Le Mans. The next year race organizers had to limit the engine size to prevent another Jaguar rout. The 12-cylinder D-type combined unbriddled power and unfettered racing lines, never to be surpassed. The Jaguar’s dark green paint job defined England’s Racing Green.
I bet when you close your eyes and picture the primordial race car, whether on a slot car track, a hotweels loop, or a cross-country rally, it’s the D-type off-center fin you see behind a helmeted man with goggles. The precurser to everybody’s favorite Jaguar, the (E-type) XKE, emulated by the Corvette, the Dino, the GT, the Viper, and the 280Z, was the Jaguar D-type.
If in Second Life you can have anything, what kind of male could you possibly be without that car?
