Panther Paradox

Prologue

03:25 am, New West Coast Motorway (M1)

Two cars race down the near-empty highway dodging around the scattering of regular late-night commuters on the highway, a midnight blue Dodge Viper SR I sits in the lead, tearing up the pavement and as it rockets down the motorway but hot on its tail is a 1990 cyan PanzerWuff Panther Gen 2, its pop up headlights shine through the rear window of the viper, it's 2.5l I4 somehow keeping up with the viper's 8l V10, the Panther's turbo whining under the hood as its bumper nearly kisses the rear of the Viper, like 2 NASCAR cars drafting, as it keeps pace. 

The cars continue to race down the nearly empty stretch of road, weaving past other traffic as they both keep an incredible pace. The Panther car moves to the side and accelerates, its turbo emitting a distinct whine as the engine reaches higher RPMs and unleashes its full power to catch up and pull ahead of the Viper as the lights of their goal come into view, the west coast city of Sentai, Enderin. The exit to the city comes close as the two cars a neck and neck, but the off-ramp is too narrow for two cars, so one will have to fall behind. 

The Viper pulls ahead again slightly, but the Panther pulls it back, the exit sign wizzes past denoting it's 1 kilometre away, but the cars are still side to side, someone needs to pull off. 400 meters from the exit the Viper pulls off and falls behind as the two cars go into the off-ramp, drifting around the clover onto the C5, the outer city orbital highway. Coming off the ramp the Panther drifts across most of the lanes and comes close to slamming into a semi-trailer. The Panther pulls some fancy moves to avoid the grim fate, using smart shifting and clever throttle control to sharpen the turn of the drift to avoid hitting the semi, which swerves off to the side to avoid being hit as the Panther's rear slides past its front bumper. 

Fishtailing to recover the Panther rockets ahead again, putting the pedal to the metal as it races to recover its lost speed, promptly putting the angry semi in its rearview mirror, unfortunately, what isn't in the rearview is the Viper, who took advantage of the misplay, its taillights teasing the Panther from the darkness as it's almost black paint hide it in the shadows, only turning blue in the regular streetlights illuminating the highway. 

The Panther car roared down the road, its engine revving with intensity as the driver slammed down on the accelerator. The turbo screamed as it forced air into the 2.5-litre i4 engine, propelling the car forward with incredible force. The lights of the city illuminated the night, casting a brilliant glow across the streets. And then, in a flash of movement, the Panther car was once again beside the Viper car. The tension was palpable as the two vehicles raced through the city; each driver determined to emerge victorious. 

The highway markers to the side tick up towards their goal. 45.6, 45.7, 45.8, 45.9, 46.0, both cars are coming close to reaching top speed, the revs hitting their peak on the highest gear, 48.3, 48.4, 48.5, 48.6, a flash in the distance from their headlights highlighted their goal, a single metal strip like ones you'd find bridges to combat the road expanding in the heat, there a single one at the 52-kilometre mark on the C5 that no one really knows why it's there, an engineering issue, and simple construction mistake, whatever the reason, it's a clear goal for the two racers. 

The 50-kilometre mark whizzes by as the two cars desperately fight for the lead, 51.1, 51.2, 51.3, 51.4, the Panther is pulling ahead of the Viper, 51.5, 51.6, 51.7, it's getting close, but the Panther is a full inch ahead, 51.8, 51.9. Clunk! The Panther's tires are first over the bump, followed swiftly by the Viper's. Both cars start to slow down as the Viper pulls behind the Panther, flashing its headlights at it before indicating to take the next exit, leaving the Panther to coast alone on the highway.