As Well As Some Men, Better Than Most

Yes, we all know that hot men look hotter with hot cars (case in point, read our article on 007s and their Aston Martins). But what’s hotter than that? Hot women with hot cars, of course. Although cars are often regarded as a male centric interest and industry, there are some women encroaching on their territory. Just like when the gentler sex can talk sports or handle power tools, a woman who can handle a sports car or bike is *bam!* suddenly elevated to sex goddess status. We run through the list of women who can as easily burn rubber and look good while doing it. 1) Danica Patrick We start the list with a bona fide motor racer. Patrick is often touted as the most successful woman in auto racing thus far. In the 2009 Indianapolis 500, she finished in 8th place, which was the highest place ever won by a woman, and subsequently gained worldwide fame. Her career continues to escalate and she achieved more ‘firsts’ this year. Patrick won the pole position for the Daytona 500, becoming the first female to ever do so for a Sprint Cup race. She then became the first woman to lead the race during a few green laps. She finished 8th in the Daytona 500, the 55th running of the race, which makes her the highest placing female driver in the event's entire history. This tiny lady, only about 5 feet 2 inches, is a force to be reckoned with on the tracks. Some other male racers (*cough* Robby Gordon) has said that Patrick’s light body mass gives her an unfair advantage, but that’s liken to a swimmer complaining that another swimmer is born naturally slimmer. Still, Patrick’s petite figure has opened up opportunities outside of the racing track. She was featured in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and has represented GoDaddy.com on the tracks as well as in their Superbowl commercials for the past 7 years. By the way, Forbes places her as the 5th richest female athlete in 2013, estimating her net worth to be USD15 million. 2) Zoe Wenham From an American female racer, we move on to a British female racer who is just at the beginning of her career. Only 19 years old, Wenham began competing in the British GT Championship, and came in 2nd in the GT4 category in her debut season. Her instructor once commented on the “smoothness of her racing” to which she replied, “Maybe it’s a girl thing.” So, perhaps there is an advantage to being a girl behind the race car wheel, which brings us to the next lovely lady on the list… 3) Cameron Diaz Some of you may remember the scene from the Charlie’s Angel movie, with Diaz’s character in an overly dramatic but still enjoyable kart racing scene:

Although Diaz probably had a stunt double who did the actual driving in that scene, she is no wilting flower behind the wheel in real life. She and co-star, Tom Cruise, appeared in an episode of Top Gear’s Star In A Reasonably Priced Car, driving the Kia Cee’d, vying for the fastest lap time among their guests: Although Cruise, a well known adrenaline junkie, clocked the faster time of 1:44.2, Diaz clocked a respectable 1:45.2 and was the visibly more elegant driver of the 2 (remember, Wenham said that it’s a girl thing?). Diaz is the 2nd fastest female driver of all the Top Gear’s guests driving the Kia Cee’d, losing only to… 4) Amy Macdonald image: bbcamerica.com Macdonald is a self-confessed petrol head who is the fastest female driver in all of Top Gear’s Star In A Reasonably Priced Car series, finishing with a time of 1:44.4 in the Kia Cee’d. A Scottish singer-songwriter, this talented, beautiful girl has admitted to knowing the specs of all the latest car models and has stated, “I just like cars. I’m like Jeremy Clarkson.” Macdonald owns a Ferrari 458 which can go up to 202mph, a speed which she probably can handle without breaking a sweat. The supercar was ordered by her ex-boyfriend, who decided to drop the order and look for another buyer. “I became restless and couldn’t sleep properly because I kept thinking about having a red Ferrari on the drive. My friends couldn’t understand why I was getting myself into such a state…Well, obviously I decided I needed the Ferrari. I couldn’t bear it to go to anyone else,” Macdonald said, obsessing about the car in a way that men can empathise, rather than when a woman obsesses over shoes or bags.  Before taking the plunge that would cost her GBP170 000, Macdonald asked her mother, who was also her accountant, whether she’d be poor if she bought the car. Her mother said, “You won’t be poor, just stupid.” To which Macdonald replied, “I’m fine with that...” 4) Jodie Kidd image: forums.pelicanparts.com An international supermodel, Kidd can ride horses as well as racecars. She calls herself a “Maserati girl”, having had between 15 to 20 of their cars for more than a decade now. Her relationship with the marque began after meeting their representative one day by chance, and was subsequently invited to Italy to train and undergo a trial to see if she was good enough to race. Indeed she was. Together with co-driver, Fabio Babini, they took the top spot in the Maserati Trofeo Pro-Am race in the 2004 Bologna Motorshow, driving the 2005 Maserati Trofeo GranSport in its racing debut. The unfavourable weather during the race, which didn’t faze Kidd, gave her the nickname of “Queen of the Rain”. While most new parents would trade in their sports car for a sedan, Kidd continued to use her 2-door Maserati after giving birth to her son in 2011. Naturally, she uses a matching designer baby seat. She defended her decision, saying, “…you don’t just let go of a car like that!” These ladies are just a fragment of women who are confident, sexy, successful and who can drive a car as well as some men, and better than most. And we haven’t even started on the list of female bikers. Stay tuned...