Recruiting tool? Gus Malzahn's flashy new sports car

AUBURN, Ala. — “Auburn Fast” has a whole new meaning.

Gus Malzahn bought a new car a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t exactly a whim. The BMW i8 is a tad flashy, sure — scissor doors! — and it’s expensive — MSRP: $140,700 — and it’s a birthday present.

“I’ve never had a sports car,” Malzahn told reporters. “I turned 50 and figured it was time to go ahead and get one.”

But it’s also a vehicle for spreading the news about Auburn football, apparently under the operating principle that creating buzz is a good thing. After catching a ride with Malzahn the other day, here’s the (very quick) takeaway:

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

The sports car starts fast and then goes faster (though always within the prescribed legal limits, of course). The only real issue: It goes from zero to however-fast-you-want in such a fury, there’s danger it might get away from you.

Whether it helps win football games, who knows? Several recruits have already taken rides. As one example: Tray Bishop, a quarterback from Dawson, Ga., rode with Malzahn last month and then told AL.com:

“It was crazy. I never pictured myself riding in something like that. I see sports cars all the time but I never pictured myself riding, like where I wanted to be in life.”

Which means even though the program’s catch phrase refers to Malzahn’s hurry-up, no-huddle offense, the new car is just another way to show off Auburn Fast.