RE: "It is such a cool machine"

> Russia's new rich, who built fantastic fortunes trading commodities and contacts after the fall of the Soviet Union, have made a name for themselves as ostentatious purchasers of everything from British football clubs to Faberge eggs

Old Joke with new characters:

A recently-wealthy Russian businessman walks into a Mercedes-Benz dealership and asks for the most expensive car they have. They show him the SLR McLaren. When informed it's $500,000, the Russian nods, pulls out his billfold and offhandedly writes a check for that amount.  He takes the car and drives away.

One week later, the same Russian is back at the dealership, and inquires if they have another SLR McLaren.  When he's asked if there was something wrong with the one he bought last week, the Russian snorts and says, "Ach, the ashtray's full already."

 

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