ORLANDO -- As the backup to the best center in the
NBA, unheralded
Marcin Gortat doesn't cause much of a stir when he enters and leaves a game.
He causes quite a commotion, though, every night when he arrives and departs the arena. He has arguably the loudest, fastest car in a league that is filled with players who drive some of the fastest, sleekest, most elegant rides in America.
"People in this country don't know me yet for my game, but people around this town know my car,'' Gortat said as he was showing off his ride to FanHouse. "I don't think there are any cars out on the street that could beat me. I have an engine like something in NASCAR. This car is fast. It's perfect.''
Before he starts it, Gortat's car doesn't look any different than any other car in parking lot filled with rich people. It's a new BMW M5, shiny and black and looking like a million dollars.
But once he starts pulling away, you can hear and feel the power, even at a distance. A part-time mechanic in his native Poland before he signed his first NBA contract, Gortat has made myriad modifications to the car that now includes an 800 horsepower engine, which is big even for a high-performance vehicle, and plenty of supercharged accessories. It makes the Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Magic general manager
Otis Smith sound quiet.
. The only problem is that it just wouldn't take corners would it?
