If we asked you to name the fastest Chevrolet on the planet, many of you would probably answer a high-powered Corvette or Camaro. Those answers would inevitably be incorrect. Actually, we didn’t get it, either; at least until we found out about this replica Chevrolet S10 owned by Neal Darnell of Springfield, Missouri.
The story behind this truck and the kind of power it has under its hood is a picture of human creativity and the lengths people will go to make an impression on history. You see, when Darnell purchased the Chevy truck, it already came with a Pratt & Whitney jet engine that produced a staggering 12,000 horsepower.
Taking from his purchase, Darnell went out and sought some high-level training on how to tame his gargantuan beast while also receiving all the needed requirements - i.e. licenses from the NHRA and the IHRA Drag Racing - in order to have his truck be eligible for competition.
Darnell even named his baby the ’Flash Fire Jet Truck’, which pretty much surmises what kind of monster this truck is. And with a name like that comes eye-popping performance figures that justify its billing: 0-60 mph in just 1.5 seconds, an ’average’ speed of 350 mph, and a top speed of 375 mph.
Lord knows how Neal Darnell can withstand driving a car with this many horses under its hood. But for spectators like us, watching a truck emit insane amounts of flames from its rear end is like watching a rocket blast off into the horizon.
We’ve been harping about world records on this site for a little while now. It’s not because we’ve suddenly developed a fascination for them, but because we’ve always been on the look-out for records like this.
One record that seems to continually pop up recently is the land speed record for an electric car. And just as it always comes up in conversations, somebody is trying to take a shot at beating it. The latest attempt we’ve heard about comes from the Bluebird Team, a team of engineers and drivers building a car - the Bluebird Electric - with the hopes of breaking the top speed record for an electric car. Headed by land-speed racing veteran Don Wales, the Bluebird Team is looking at breaking 500 mph in the Bluebird Electric, a notable feat considering that the current record only sits at 307 mph, which, incidentally, was set just a year ago.
Despite the lofty goals being set by the team, the work done to jump start the entire project is still in its infancy stages. The dream is there; the money, unfortunately, isn’t.
"I have a team of 30 people requiring accommodation and feeding and volunteers are needed to help as course marshals and fodders, " Wales said in a statement. "Without a principal sponsor as yet, the development of the car is taking all of what limited budget we have".
Lack of money notwithstanding, the Bluebird Team is still pushing forward with their goal. As part of their testing, the team took the car to the Pendine Sands in Wales on July 2 and 3 for some testing.
If anybody’s interested in giving these guys a hand through donations, you can do so by contacting Rebecca Nicholls on her email at rebecca@bluebirdspeedrecords.com.
UPDATE 07/19/11: Bluebird Electric’s record speed runs has finally been penciled in at the calendar. The dates have been set on the weekend of August 13 and 14 at the Pendine Sands, South Wales. Circle the date, folks!
Learn more about the Bluebird Team and their BlueBird Electric Car after the jump.
It was only a matter of time before the blue-jeaned wonder that is Jay Leno would get the chance to drive the fastest production car on the planet. Frankly, we’re surprised it took him so long to get a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport into his famous garage, but considering this is a special Veyron, donned in an exposed blue carbon fiber, it was probably worth the wait. For Leno, of course.
Short reminder: The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is powered by a 16-cylinder engine with four enlarged turbochargers and bigger intercoolers that have been used to boost the power to a total of 1200 HP. Just after its official launch, the car was entered into the Guinness Book of Records with an average top speed of 431 km/h (267 mph), making it the fastest car in the world.
Make sure you check out the video to see what Leno thinks of the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. Pay special attention to the end, where Leno drives the vehicle to determine if it is really worth the crazy price tag it comes with.
Chrysler may be about ready to unveil the new generation Dodge Viper, but the company isn’t finished with the current generation just yet. Apparently, Chrysler wants to make history by breaking as many records as they possibly can with the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR revealed just a few months ago.
A few months ago, the Viper SRT-10 ACR became the fastest production car at Miller Motorsports Park and had already sealed the deal with the fastest lap time in the Nurburgring back in 2008. Now the car is preparing to start an intense attack across the country to stake claim as the fastest production car on as much legendary courses as possible.
The tour is called the Viper Record Tour ’11 and features stops at the Monticello Motor Club, Sebring International Raceway, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and even the Nürburgring Nordschleife where Dodge hopes it will break the Viper’s own 7:22.1 lap time.
The driver for the tour has yet to be announced, but rumors are suggesting that Kumo Wittmer — the driver who set the production car lap record at Miller Motorsports Park with an ACR - will be one of the drivers sitting behind the wheel.
To say we’re excited about Chrysler’s plan of action would be an understatement, so stay tuned and hear all about the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR’s success - or lack thereof!
We love going fast and we love pushing the limits to see what our vehicles are capable of. The Bonneville Salt Flats provide a perfect setting for speed junkies of all kind to come and find out what they are capable of achieving. This dry lake bed has been dominated in recent times by the internal combustion engine and even jet power, but an older form of powering four wheels is about to take center stage once again.
The U.S. Land Steam Record Team will be attempting to beat the current record in their newest steam powered vehicle. In 2009, Team Inspiration from Great Britain broke the 1985 steam record by hitting 148.308 mph. The previous official FIA record of 127mph was set in 1906 by American, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steamer at Daytona Beach.
Driver and car designer, Chuk Williams, in conjunction with Cyclone Power Technologies will be the latest steam pioneers when they attempt the record breaking run in August 2011. The state of the art streamline design is projected to hit a top speed north of 200 mph, which would undoubtedly seal its position in the history books. We look forward to reporting more on the attempt once the team makes it to Bonneville.
Hit the jump for more details on the U.S. Land Steam Record Team
Everything in China these days is becoming bigger, higher, faster, and sometimes, a combination of all three. That’s what happens when you position yourself as one of the fastest growing countries – and in a sense, most powerful, too – in the world.
Straight from the country comes another monumental achievement, something that should prove to be a boon for a lot of its motorists. It’s called the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge and it was recently opened last June 30, immediately being cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest roadway bridge over water in the world.
So how long is this piece of architectural wonder?
From start to finish, it covers a distance of 26.4 miles, which is nothing to snicker about given its enormity. But as with bridges of this size, the name of the game is still about saving time on commutes, which ironically, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge doesn’t quite adequately accomplish, saving only 19 miles and 20 minutes off of the commute time.
Having said that, there’s still something to be said for a bridge this long and the Jiazhou Bay Bridge accomplishes that by a mile, or 26.
You know how we always challenge our buddies in a smartphone typing contest to determine who’s the fastest texter of the lot? Well, good thing we’re not friends with this 16-year old from Australia.
Earlier this year at the LG Mobile WorldCup Championships in New York City, Australian texting wizard, Cheong Kit Au, broke the Guinness world record for being the fastest person to type on a QWERTY-style smartphone. The 16-year old from Melbourne, Australia blasted through a 264-character text in just one minute and 17.03 seconds, breaking the previous world record by a mind-boggling 43 seconds.
The characters had been preselected by the Guinness World Records to give all the contestants equal opportunity to speed through them using a QWERTY-style keyboard. In the end, Cheong out-typed a pool of some of the world’s fastest texters, giving him sole possession of the title of world’s fastest smartphone texter.
While we consider ourselves pretty fast typists on a QWERTY ourselves, we’re not even going to consider challenging this kid, lest we want to embarrass ourselves.
The cheetah may reign supreme as the fastest animal on land, but when you take into account the air above and the water below, the title of fastest animal on the planet belongs to the Peregrine Falcon.
When considering the broad scope of the fastest animal on the planet, the Top 10 list would probably consist mostly of birds, but in fairness to the land and water-based creatures, we’re going to hold the Peregrine Falcon and other high-speed birdies in a different category altogether. You see, when measuring the speed of birds based on traveling speed measured in level flying, the Peregrine Falcon isn’t the king of the air. Actually, it doesn’t even crack the Top 10. The title for fastest bird in this kind of flight goes to the Spine-Tailed Swift, which can hit a top level flying speed of 106 mph. Compare that to the Peregrine Falcon, which can hit a top speed of just about 60 mph in level flight - impressive in its own right, but not Top 10 material - and the Spine-Tailed Swift blows it out of the water.
So, how is this bird considered the fastest all around and how dare we compare it to a McLaren? Well, hit the jump to find out.
Just a few days after its official launch, the 2012 BMW M5 has just become the fastest sedan around the Nurburgring race track with an impressive time of 7:55. With this new time, the M5 will be placed above models like the Porsche Panamera Turbo (7:56) and the Cadillac CTS-V (7:59). This new lap time also matches the ’Ring time of the Ferrari F430.
The BMW M5 is powered by a high-revving 4.4-liter V8 engine with an M TwinPower Turbo package that delivers an impressive 560 HP at 6,000 – 7,000 rpm and a peak torque of 502 lb-ft from 1,500 rpm. The model will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and, when the speed limiter is removed, is capable of hitting an impressive top speed of 190 mph.
The record lap was completed by a BMW driver, but don’t put it in the record books just yet. This is actually an unofficial time, surely to be followed by the real thing shortly.
And in spectacular fashion, Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima delivered yet again, shattering his previous mark in the Unlimited Class by over 10 seconds and setting a new record for the fastest climb up Pikes Peak.
The Japanese legend raced up the mountain in a blistering time of 9:51.278, easily eclipsing his previous record time of 10:01.408, which he set back in 2007. Taking his Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special up Pikes Peak, Tajima was virtually flawless in his ascent becoming the very first man to hit a sub 10-minute time in one of the most legendary races in the world.
What makes the record even more special was that Tajima had to battle through an overheating engine to achieve his record-breaking time.
A hearty whoop goes out to "Monster" Tajima for raising the bar yet again at Pikes Peak. Goes without saying that when talking about this event in the future, his name will go down in the record books as one of the best ever.
Check out the video of Tajima’s record-breaking ascent!
