Shoreline resident Peter Thomsen didn’t expect his wife, Betsy, to bring part of her work to the curb outside of their home — not even on his birthday.
Working as the business development director at Marvel Cars in Seattle means sometimes Betsy gets the chance to drive exotic or luxury vehicles. On May 12, she arranged for a cherry red Dodge Viper to show up for Thomsen to use on his 51st birthday.
Thomsen didn’t expect the birthday surprise.
“I had no idea this gift was coming,” Thomsen said. “It was a complete surprise.”
Marvel Cars operates a fleet of luxury performance automobiles that are available for rent by the day, the weekend or the week. Those interested in renting a car can choose from the Dodge Viper SRT-10, Lotus Elise, Porsche Boxster, Mercedes CLS 500, a Corvette and a Hummer H3.
Betsy hadn’t driven the Dodge Viper before May 12 but she said she could hear the vehicle coming two blocks from the house. Thomsen, a pastor working out of North Seattle, noticed the car pull up to the house after Betsy asked him to come upstairs.
It wasn’t long before Thomsen took his birthday rental out around the neighborhood.
“I had gone two blocks and noticed a bicyclist coming by and he just turned and looked as I drove by,” Thomsen said. “It’s fun to see the people as you’re coming around.”
Only able to experience two of the six gears while driving around the neighborhood, Thomsen took Betsy for a drive along I-90 and in the cities of Carnation and Duvall. Over the course of 100 miles, he experienced four of the gears before returning the car to a storing location in Renton.
Thomsen said he isn’t used to driving a vehicle that can go zero to 60 in 3.8 seconds and has an estimated cost of almost $85,000. He’s more likely to be seen driving a van for a soccer league he coaches, according to him.
“It’s quite a contrast to the vehicle I normally drive,” he said. “But it’s a fun car.”
While driving on I-5 on his way to return the vehicle, Thomsen said he heard honking and noticed three college-aged guys next to him, smiling and giving the thumbs up sign.
“I smiled and gave them the thumbs up sign back,” Thomsen said.
Betsy said she also enjoyed the chance to sit behind the wheel of the Viper but her favorite exotic car the company offers is the Porsche Boxster.
“(The Porsche Boxster) feels kinda like a normal car,” she said. “It’s not frightening to drive it — it’s just fun.”
Although Thomsen joked about using the Viper as his “preacher mobile” he won’t be purchasing his own exotic vehicle anytime soon, he said. Still, the birthday was a very memorable one.
“This will be a hard one to top,” he said.
Marvel Cars offers several different rental options, including a tour where the recipient can drive four different cars — the Viper, Lotus Elise, Corvette and Porsche for an hour each.
“For the real car enthusiast that would be a fun tour,” Betsy said.
For more information about Marvel Cars visit www.marvelcars.com or call 877-803-3001.
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