There are things in this world that are faster than the best supercars out there, so to show respect to the world of speed as a whole, we’ve decided to touch on these subjects as well. From human to animal and even some other man made machines, we welcome you to the world of speed.
Eight-cylinder powered cars have always been favoured by drag racers, but with environmental requirements seemingly getting stricter and stricter by the day, more efficient engines are being developed. If the following video is to be believed, a new four-cylinder powered dragster has reportedly smashed all previous world records, completing the quarter-mile sprint in just 6.71 seconds at 206 mph.
The world record was achieved at the Napierville Dragway in Canada and was reportedly created by Nicholas Brunet with an advanced 2.0-liter GM Ecotec engine launching the dragster down the drag strip in a time the vast majority of eight-cylinder powered cars would be proud of.
In order to mark this momentous occasion, an array of camera angles were captured showcasing the numerous runs. Despite the fact that the record has yet to be verified by anybody, such as Guinness Book of World Records, we definitely don’t need confirmation to know that this is one extremely fast racer.
Second and third videos can be seen after the jump!
Central Florida Motorsports - aka CFM - just developed one of the most amazing Mustang V6 models available on the market. Based on a 2011 model, the updated muscle car just became the world’s fastest V6 Mustang, running the quarter mile in 10 seconds at 125.37 mph.
In order to achieve this remarkable time, the standard V6 Mustang by CFM went through a variety of changes, including the addition of ProCharger’s D1 centrifugal supercharger system producing 13 pounds of boost, as well as BBK long tubes, BBK offroad X, FRPP 4.10 gears, a Magnaflow "street" catback exhaust, an SCT custom tune, 80lb/hr injectors, a Driveshaft Shop aluminum shaft, and a Circle D 3,000 Billet Converter. These modifications gave the Mustang a dramatic increase in output from the standard 305 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque all the way up to 475 horsepower from the muscle car’s 3.6-liter V6 engine.
The car was also equipped with a new set of RaceStar wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial 295/55-15 wheels. There is also a Steeda adjustable control arm and BMR lower control arms.
We absolutely love daredevil antics in cars and on motorcycles, given they are done safely and by professionals. The folks at Top Gear Live are just about to satisfy our craving by pulling off the first 720 on four wheels, which Top Gear has dubbed the “Deadly 720.” The term “720” refers to a pair of 360-degree loops in succession, so absolute perfection is required to succeed in tackling each loop.
To give you an idea of just how much precision is needed, the engineers heading up the stunt have estimated that the customized buggy that Top Gear Live is using for this stunt must enter each loop between 24 and 26 mph, 2 mph more could result in excessive G-force and result in the driver blacking out and 2 mph too low would cause the buggy to fall from the loop. To help avoid driver error, Top Gear has fitted the special stunt buggy with an accelerator lock that will hold the accelerator in a precise position to maintain the prescribed speed, so the driver can focus only on keeping the buggy on the 58-meter-long track.
Despite the accelerator lock, we all know that any given car can run drastically different from one day to the next, so even with the lock, there is still a great possibility that the car will have too much or too little speed and we will see a spectacular crash. We are pretty certain that there will be tons of test runs on the actual day to make sure the car is perfect, so a crash is very unlikely.
Crash or not, we are all set to see history take place at the Top Gear Festival in the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa on June 16th – 17th, 2012. Ah, the things people will do to get in a record book.
UPDATE 06/19/2012: The group at Top Gear finally attempted the “Deadly 720” this weekend, and just as expected… It all went exactly to plan. This places the Top Gear Live clan in the Guinness Book of World Record for the most loops by an automobile. Congrats to our Top Gear daredevils. We have also attached a video of the stunt (above). Hit the one minute mark to skip the introductions.
Click past the jump to read Top Gear’s full press release.
Using the words “Ford Granada” and “Cool” in the same sentence, with exception to the 1991 Granada Cosworth, is sort of an oxymoron, as there was never anything cool about it. The Mark II Granada was a compact sedan that peaked out at a lackluster 160 horsepower and bottomed out at a sub-Geo-Metro 54 horsepower. That said, there are ways to make just about any car cool, so what in the world could a few guys from the U.K. do to make this econo-box even remotely cool?
The answer to that question is easy: rip out the stock engine, get to hacking up the body a little bit, and drop 1,700-horsepower worth of engine into it. Yup, somehow these fine monstercar builders got their hands on a Koenigsegg CCX 4.7-liter V-8 with twin turbochargers and dropped it into this circa-2,800-pound body.
In addition to dropping in nearly 2,000 ponies, the group of automotive mad scientists installed a 2003/4 Ford Mustang Cobra rear independent suspension, which appears to include the rear axle assembly. This beast comes to a halt using a set of big and nasty Porsche disc brakes.
Needless to say, this is freaking bad-ass and we cannot put it any other way without getting too graphic. The only bad thing is that they did not release any official performance specs on this supercar-powered granny car, except that its only limitation in horsepower is how much boost they push into it. Without any boost, the engine cranks out 550 to 600 horsepower, at 14.7 psi it crests 1,000 ponies and at 34.8 psi, it crests 2,000 horsepower.
Regardless of its final output, just the install itself is impressive. The builders also posted a video (above) of it running, for those non-believers out there.
Caterham’s SP/300.R just gave a very important lesson to some of the most amazing supercars out there. The sports car delivered the fastest lap during the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, the annual show held in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle. Some of the world’s most expensive and fastest supercars, including models from Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and its direct competitor, the Ariel Atom V8 500 attended the event in hopes of overtaking the record, but Caterham was the clear winner.
With Caterham Drive Experience instructor, Scott Mansell behind the wheel, the SP/300.R lapped the 1.2 mile course in am impressive 61.89 seconds. The previous record was help by Lamborghini who established a time of 62.68 seconds back in 2010.
Andy Noble, Caterham Cars Sales and Marketing Director, said: “The Cholmondeley Pageant of Power has been growing in statue for several years now and it is a truly excellent event, anybody who’s anybody is here and that is partly why it is so satisfying to take the lap record and secure the fastest time for a car around this beautiful circuit."
After releasing the first official details on the new SLS AMG GT - the replacement for the SLS AMG - Mercedes has confirmed that the new version is significantly improved. The company recently trekked to the Nurburgring to run the car on the famous Nordschleife race track, which it did remarkably well in barely under 7:30 - about five seconds quicker than the standard SLS AMG.
The test around Nurburgring was made at the hands of Ola Källenius, AMG CEO, who unsurprisingly so, seemed to be very impressed with the car. We are still waiting for the official video from this run to be just as impressed, but while we wait, here are the official specs for the new SLS AMG GT.
The new Mercedes SLS AMG GT is powered by a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine that delivers an extra 20 HP thanks to new suspension components and a retuned ECU. This brings the output up to 583 HP, allowing it to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, up to a top speed of 198 mph.
German tuner, AC Schnitzer, has blown our minds yet again with another speedy creation based off of a cool, yet uninspiring in power, model. Their new Raptor Concept is based on the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe and has just officially become the fastest Mini on the world famous Grand Prix circuit in Hockenheim. With a lap time of 1:10.87 minutes, the new Raptor has catapulted itself into the premier league of real sports cars, making it faster than the previous AC Schnitzer Eagle by about 1.11 seconds.
In order to obtain this impressive result, AC Schnitzer had to optimize all areas of the vehicle. The job started with the engine where the output was increased from 211 HP to 300 HP. A new exhaust system was added and the total weight was reduced by 220 lbs. The tuner also added a sport chassis with adjustable height and, of course, a new set of 18" lightweight metal rims.
Check out the video to see the Mini John Cooper Works Coupe Raptor by AC Schnitzer in action!
The history of the Vauxhall Victor began back in 1957 when General Motors first unveiled it to the British market. It was a large family car with 55 HP that was built to take families from point A to point B. You don’t need to be a genius to understood that this car had nothing to do with impressive performance level. That being said, we are 100% sure that when Vauxhall brought the Victor onto the market, they never believed that it would become the world’s fastest road-legal drag racing car. With some "minor" modifications to its power source, of course.
In fact, here at TopSpeed, we first reported about the Red Victor 3 back in 2010, when this project was in its early development stages. Now, since it turned out not to be just some guy’s trifle, we decided it was time to offer up a little more information on it.
The Red Victor 3 is based on a 1967 Victor FD - the fourth generation Victor - and is the result of a collaboration between VXR and the Red Victor team. You can only image the hard work the team put in to take the car from the standard 88 HP (the amount of power developed by the FD) to the impressive 3000 HP it currently pushes out. Yeah, you read that right; a whopping 3,000 HP!
Hit the jump to read all about the Vauxhall Red Victor 3, including its stats achieved at the 2012 FIA Main Event at Santa Pod. At this event, the Red Victor 3 became the world’s fastest street legal car, achieving an astounding 6.59 seconds at 220 mph.
If you watch Formula One as religiously as we do, then you’ll be aware that the commentators continually refer to F1 drivers as the best in the world, and while we respect their talent immensely, we do have a firm belief that rally drivers possibly possess even more skill. This is simply due to the fact that they often drive cars which can accelerate as fast as F1 cars on roads less than half the width of a common F1 track.
Additionally, rally cars have a lot more personality than F1 cars as classic rally cars were not as clinical as F1 cars of the time and right now, and if you love rally just as much as we do then the following video is a must.
In the latest episode of ‘Chris Harris on Cars’ on the Drive YouTube network, the man himself, Chris Harris, was lucky enough to be invited by Pirelli to the Italian launch of its new P7 Corsa Classic racing tire specifically designed for classic rally cars.
In a first, Harris rides shotgun in a selection of incredible rally cars, rather than drive them, but this has to go down as one of our very favorite Chris Harris reviews. Cars featured heavily in the video include the Lancia Stratos, Lancia Delta S4, and the incredible Lancia 037 which produces a noise so incredible that it will literally send shivers down your spine.
Add that to the fact that a host of extremely successful rally drivers were on hand to drive Harris around in the cars, including Markku Alen and Juha Kankkunen, and you have the makings of a truly incredible video.
Some of you may already know this, but back in early 2007, the U.S. state of Texas banned all speed cameras and then the following year recorded the lowest ever vehicle causality rate since counting began 75 years ago. Reports are claiming that the biggest state in America is set to take another huge step to help slow the road toll even more.
Some controversial research has previously shown that driving consistently at higher speeds on highways is actually safer than slower speeds as it forces drivers to be more alert. Taking into consideration the fact that the Autobahn is extremely safe with many regions not having speed limits, it wouldn’t be out of the question to raise speed limits in Texas.
That’s exactly what the Texas Department of Transportation is planning to do. The highest speed you’re allowed to legally travel in Texas is currently 80 miles per hour on select roads, but the TDOT plans to increase that to 85 mph on State Highway 130 which travels from San Antonio all the way to Austin.
Understandably, many people are outraged by this proposal and before anything goes ahead, the TDOT will have to conduct extensive speed tests to make sure the road is actually safe to be driven on at 85 mph. However, speed management director for the TDOT, Darren McDaniel is confident the road is up for the job claiming it “was designed under extremely high design parameters.”
If the changes do go through and the results are positive, then expect other U.S. states to go down a similar route.
