In the Victorian era, extreme sports were limited to teatime without doilies, writing witty satires about earnesty, and riding a pennyfarthing down a mild incline. Shock staid sensibilities with today’s Groupon to the 2011 Detroit APBA Gold Cup. Choose between the following options:

• For $15, you get two general-admission tickets for either Memorial Annex Park or Henderson Park for all three days (a $30 value). Children 12 and under gain free admittance.
• For $45, you get two grandstand tickets for Saturday and Sunday (a $90 value).

On Sunday afternoon, the fastest race boats on Earth's aquascapes skim across the Detroit River to take home the APBA Gold Cup, the oldest active trophy in motor sports. H1 Unlimited hydroplanes achieve speeds of up to 200 mph, barely touching the river and leaving spectacular sprays of water in their wakes. On Friday, when qualifying and testing for the event begins, need-for-speeders can watch teams fine-tune their crafts (viewing from the Waterworks Grandstands is free on Friday). Then, on Saturday and Sunday before the big race, a full schedule of other competitions wow spectators with speed, finesse, and boats' abilities to befriend waterside kingfishers. Large, specially designed powerboats chop through the surf during the Offshore Pro Series; old-fashioned water buggies break waves in vintage race-boat exhibitions; and light speed skiffs cruise across fishes' living rooms during the Superlight Tunnels. Around noon of each day, the U.S. Navy's West Coast Super Hornet demonstration team will perform jet-defying tricks in their FA-18.