`Ultimate Rally' here?
BILL TAYLOR
TORONTO STAR

Hot on the wheels of the Cannonball Run Canada may be the so-called Ultimate Rally, "the first exotic-car transcontinental race of its kind."

It bills itself as being "less about glamour and all about a competitive 3,000-mile (4,800-km) race for several large cash prizes, including a $2 million (U.S.) grand prize."

The race, which takes place outside the U.S. in the summer of 2006, will comprise 100 cars racing for five days, followed by a two-day party at the finish.

The winner will be handed cash on the spot says the http://www.ultimaterally.com website: "The organizers will provide sufficient security."

Of seven routes under consideration, one crosses Canada from Halifax to Vancouver, taking in Toronto.

The Ultimate brain belongs to one-time teenage computer hacker Kim Schmitz, now apparently a multi-millionaire businessman.

Inspired by the 1976 movie The Gumball Rally, the Gumball 3000 was started in 1999 by Maximillian Cooper, a wealthy Briton.

Schmitz touts himself as winning it twice but complains online, "Only a few of the Gumballers actually competed. Most of them were there to show off in their hot cars.

"Mine will be a five-day adrenaline rush with 100 competitive drivers in extremely fast, exotic cars. It will be like Paris-Dakar or the Baja 1000, only more sophisticated and on pavement."

He plans to compete "in a customized, supercharged, V12, 605-horsepower Mercedes CL65 fitted with a 250-litre gas tank and electronics galore."

Each car will carry three cameras to catch all the action, with film crews in helicopters and "a Hollywood producer to turn the event into a movie."

The $30,000 (U.S.) entry fee includes taking your vehicle to the starting point, to be announced at the last minute.

Schmitz says developing countries are keen on this kind of thing because of the attention and revenue it brings.

"I currently have teams scouting out everything from a South American run to a Beijing-Moscow trip through six time zones. Whenever 100 exotic cars race through an area, the police need to be on side."

Given the zeal with which our highways are patrolled, perhaps we shouldn't hold our breath over Canada being chosen.

See it online here at TheStar.com