If you have lots, lots, lots more money to spend, why don't you participate in the Gumball Rally, a cross-country road race for the exuberantly wealthy?

Highlights from SF Chronicle article:

• The event, inspired by the classic Burt Reynolds road flick "Cannonball Run, " is not for the faint of heart, shallow of pocket or early to bed. First-time gumballers pay about $12,000, which includes breakfast, dinner and lodging, but doesn't cover gas, speeding tickets, bail or beverages.


• Driving the Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, Morgans, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Jaguars, a Koenigsegg (one of the world's fastest cars) and vintage muscle cars were a motley mix of British royalty, tipsy bon vivants, models, corporate chieftains and the simply motor-obsessed.


• Outside Las Vegas last year, one gumballer did doughnuts, hitting a Ferrari 360 Spyder, which hit a Porsche 911, which hit an Audi RS4. The drivers hired a helicopter to take them to the Playboy mansion. On another rally, a socialite was caught speeding, topless, on the French autoroute. Exceeding 150 mph is not uncommon; tickets are plastered on the windshield like badges of honor.


• Abi, who describes himself as a retired soccer player in his early 30s, attended last year's rally from New York to Los Angeles. He and his buddy drove a Dodge Viper, which reached speeds of 165 mph, he said. A Ferrari F50 clocked 209 mph, he added. "My co-driver got arrested going 158 mph in Tennessee," Abi said. "He was arrested, handcuffed and taken to jail. I couldn't stop laughing." They got 28 tickets in six days, he said.