Not everyone can go touring in a Bugatti or racing in a Ferrari. But that's half the allure — you want it but you can't have it. Well, that's not entirely true.
Say the words Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche or Lamborghini and we challenge you not to think of burnt rubber, combusted dinosaur remains and millionaires swanning around in their yachts across the Mediterranean. But you needn't be married to a Kennedy nor have starred in some laugh-track enhanced comedy to join this crowd.
For around AU$2,000 mid-week or AU$4,000 on weekends — less if you join a car club — you can sample the supercar snarl and have your butt caressed by the finest Italian leather for a day. If that's still too rich for you, you can bask in the reflected glory of these sporting marques by purchasing some branded merchandise.
Every self-respecting luxury car maker has a range of clothing including t-shirts and jackets, so some have branched out into the world of tech. You can have laptops from Acer and ASUS emblazoned with Ferrari and Lamborghini logos. Yes, the links to octane-fuelled excitement are tenuous at best — a splash of Maranello red here, a leather palm rest there — but you could try imagining the bits zooming around on the printed circuit boards as if they were racing on the Nürburgring.
Even more humble tech accessories, such as portable hard-disks and USB sticks, wish to be associated with past racing glories. Witness the SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition USB memory stick and the LaCie Mobile Hard Drive, design by FA Porsche. Although something tells us that FA's Porsche 911 might looked upon more fondly by car fans and historians alike.
If you scorn this merchandising mania and just want to sate your desire for air-cleaving shapes, barking engines and fast lap times, you can get part of the experience by plumping up for a PlayStation 2, a steering wheel and a copy of Gran Turismo 4 — or if your predilection runs to bikes, Tourist Trophy. Those with a PS3 can download the free Gran Turismo HD Concept, which lets you race 10 cars around the Swiss Alps, as well as battle online for the title of speed or drift king. And if you can read Japanese or Chinese, the more involved Gran Turismo 5 Prologue can be purchased for between ¥4,500 (AU$45.50) and ¥4,980 (AU$50.40). Sure, if you go down this route you won't get to experience stomach churning g-forces, but there's also no way of catching on fire or losing your licence either.
Acer Ferrari 5000
The Ferrari 5000 is the best looking and performing notebook Acer has released, but it's pricey and not without its quirks.
ASUS Lamborghini VX2
It may not have Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, but the latest Lamborghini laptop looks like it has the pure muscle to snap benchmarks in two and still have time to grab a beer and pizza.
Gran Turismo 4: PS2 review 
Please unscramble the following for our short summary of Gran Turismo 4: Best. Ever. Game. Car. For more, read our Australian review.
Tourist Trophy
Tourist Trophy is (almost) the Gran Turismo of the motorcycle kingdom. That's no surprise really because it's also made by the crew at Polyphony Digital.
LaCie Mobile Hard Drive, design by F.A. Porsche (160GB)
LaCie's latest external hard drive is a winner on price and performance.
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