photo courtesy Chazz Hobson

“Fast Fridays”

Just another Friday night in Kansas  

by Pablo Mazlumian

The Kansas City area is smack in the heart of the U.S.  It's also where the famous Louis and Clark and California gold rush passed through.  But today, some 150-200 years after those expeditions, very cherished, more contemporary horseless buggies end up at the same spot every Friday fortnight.  So if you're ever blazing your own trail cross-country, make KC a checkpoint and stop by KC Trends on a Fast Fridays evening.

Coastal American residents likely wouldn't expect to see such an assortment of muscle cars and exotics in the KC suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.  Shoot, it's adjacent to a town called Prairie Village.  But when spring arrives, a slew of local enthusiasts get together every other Friday to cruise and talk shop.  Some swing by on their way home from work, others on their way to dinner, but most stay the duration, usually 3-4 hours.  The meet is free, laid-back and provides a great chance to see the vast variety of cars and enthusiasts.  Let's take a look.

A Lotus Exige is thought by many to be one of the ultimate track cars, and I concur.  With a 2000 lb curb weight and 220 bhp from the factory how could you go wrong?

In stealth manner, this particular Exige is supercharged by BOE (Beyond Original Equipment) Fabrication, located just a few miles from here, to the tune of 330 wheel hp.  That's around 400 bhp per ton.  Gitalong!

The British-born Noble M400 could be considered a Lotus Exige on steroids, and it's not often you see one! To me, this is also one of the ultimate track shredders.  It weighs just 2300 lb and boasts a factory 425 bhp from its Cosworth-tuned, twin-turbocharged V6.