These days 200 km/h doesn’t seem like such a big deal, after all even a Hyundai with its long gearing can go 120 MPH. However 100 years ago, back when the automotive industry was in its infancy, achieving a milestone like that was quite an impressive feat. The car that made the enormous leap in performance motoring was the Lightning Benz, powered by a 21.5 Liter four cylinder engine that developed a maximum output of 200 HP and on November 8, 1909 reached a top speed of 200 km/h on the concrete paved Brooklands circuit in the United Kingdom.
Over the half mile oblong oval, starting off with a flying start, the driver of the Lightning Benz achieved an average speed of 205.666 km/h, and 202.648 km/h over one kilometer loop. The brave pilot covered the one kilometer distance from a standing start in just 31.326 seconds, the half mile was eclipsed in 25.566 seconds and the mile came in only 41.268 seconds. These new performance achievements bested the previously set records by Darracq. The Lightning Benz continued life with much success and became an international attraction as it continued chasing new records. On 23 April 1911 Bob Burman drove the car on the sand at Daytona Beach, the location of the original land speed record course in the U.S. Burman was able to achieve an average speed of 228.1 km/h for the flying kilometer and 225.7 km/h over the flying mile, a record that would remain unbroken until 1919.
In the not-so-distant future, car record-seekers are more likely to pass up on chasing the any sort of speed marks in favor of a new trend that seems to be sweeping the electric car world: how far can you go on one charge.
This week, Australia played host to the Global Green Challenge, where among other things, a new record was set by Simon Hackett on how far a lithium-ion battery-powered car can go on just one full charge. Driving a Tesla Roadster across the plains and valleys of Australia, Hackett established a new mark of 313 miles (501 km) on one charge, beating the previous record holder - ironically, another Tesla Roadster – of 241 miles set earlier this year at the Rallye Monte Carlo d’Energies Alternatives.
While the record itself is impressive in its own right, we can’t help but wonder exactly how far the Roadster was going when it reached that numbers. We know for certain that when the Roadster flexes its muscles, it would be a stretch to even think that it can reach 200 miles on one charge.
As you are used by now, when you say Ultima GT-R you automatically think of a new world record. Well, you are not wrong! The British supercar managed to smash another one: 1 minute 9.9 seconds on the Top Gear circuit. However, before you’ll get to excited, you will not see the Ultima GT-R on the official list, as the test was not conducted by the Top Gear company.
With the new time, the Ultima GT-R is faster than models like: Ferrari FXX - 1 minute 10.7 seconds and Caparo T1 with a record lap time of 1 minute 10.6.
Richard Marlow, director of Ultima Sports said: "We are all absolutely thrilled with this lap record. I could see that the Formula 1 inspired Ferrari FXX looked supremely quick in the hands of Michael Schumacher, but I had every belief that it wasn’t a match for our legendary Ultima GTR720 road car. Of course unlike the Ferrari FXX, which is not road legal, we were able to drive our road car back home afterwards."
Short reminder: Ultima GT-R is powered by a 7-litre V8 Corvette engine that delivers 720 hp, makes the 0 to 60 mph sprint in 2.6 seconds and is capable of a top speed of 231mph.
It may look like an earth-dwelling submarine to most, but the Spectre Speedliner was created for one reason and one reason only: to break the land speed record for a gasoline powered, wheel-driven, streamliner.
Thanks in large part to months and months of testing, as well as a monstrous Cadillac V8 engine that comes with a pair of intercooled 88mm turbochargers, customized forged rods, a solid roller cam, ported, heads, and a slew of oversized valves. The result of this mammoth concoction is an engine that can produce up to 2000 horsepower. That’s right. 2000.
So, armed with a powerful engine, the Spectre Speedliner set out for the Bonneville Salt Flats with the intention of becoming the fastest gas-powered, wheel-driven streamliner in the world. After a few runs, the Speedliner finally achieved its goal, clocking in at a speed of 330.7 mph become the new standard-bearer among wheel-driven gas-powered streamliners.
One of the principals behind the project, Amir Rosenbaum, was understandably ecstatic about the team’s crowning achievement. “We’re very proud and extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication all our crew members logged over the past few months to make this happen.” From our end, we’d like to congratulations the boys over at Spectre for claiming a new record. Here’s to hoping that it stands the test of time.
Ford recently touched a soft spot in us when they gave a blind man the opportunity to drive a 2010 Ford Mustang after 20 years of visual impairment. Now while that was a heartwarming story of an American automaker making dreams come true, this record setting top speed run is an inspiring tale for disabled people around the world. Mostly because of a blind man in a Black Series at over 200 MPH.
Hein Wagner is a motivational speaker and thrill seaker who is dead set on proving that a handicap is by no means a limiting factor, because just like Roger Keene, this Johannesburg native can’t see. However that hasn’t stopped him from quite a few impressive feats, aside from the cricket championship, Hein has set a few speed record while driving blind. Back in 2005 at just 33 years of age, the inspirational South African got his kicks by piloting a Maserati V8 Grand Sport to 167 MPH 196 km/h raising funds for the, “South African National Council for the Blind” and becoming the first South African to set a World Speed Record in the process.
Wagner’s latest top speed run was in a Mercedes Benz SL65 AMG Black Series, the one with the carbon fiber bodywork and twin turbocharged V12 power plant, if there was ever a machine to set records in, this is it. In order to qualify as an official Guinness World Record the speed must be maintained for at least 1000 meters. Traveling at those kinds of speeds is a challenge for any man or woman, but thankfully Hein has a very good friend and trusting co driver that guides him on his Smokey Nagata like test drives, one Mr. Ray Wakefield from Speedrecord South Africa. The duo reportedly maintained a speed of 322.5 km/h, or 200.392209 MPH, for the required distance at the Upington Airport in South Africa.
Setting land speed records for an alternatively powered vehicle, the Venturi Buckeye Bullet, the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered high speed streamliner to break the 300 MPH mark. Nicknamed "La Jamais Contente", 750 HP was developed in partnership with the students at Ohio State University and pays tribute to the original record setting electric racer of the same name from back in 1899 when the antique automobile become the first vehicle to achieve 60 MPH. The project is part of a 3 year program with the University during which time the Streamliner will attempt to break a few other records for electrically propelled race cars as well as with the further development of innovations in driver safety, driveline, electronics and packaging for the high speed application.
After the team’s success back on September 25 with back to back 300 MPH passes down the mile long stretch of salt, the team’s efforts will continue on into the 2010 and 2011 land speed record seasons. To be exact, the Buckeye Bullet 2 currently holds both national and international land speed records of 315 MPH and 272 MPH as well as the honor of being the first zero emissions electric vehicle to run at over 300 MPH.
Just like the original "Jamais Contente," the Buckeye Bullet 2 shows that electricity is a very powerful fuel and with the right configuration shows that anything is possible. This is also a powerful push for future EVs like the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, demonstrating that electricity can be a functional fuel. The Team made up of Ohio State students and staff isn’t done yet, their next goal is to reach 350 MPH in the battery powered streamliner.
We have to admit, we’ve never seen anything quite like this before.
The photo’s you’re seeing is that of a replica Formula one car. That much is sure. But closer inspection, which in this case, we highly recommend, will show that the car was created out of...bread.
Yes, bread. You know; those tasty loaves that have become staples of our everyday diet. In an attempt to create the largest race car made from bread, a group of individuals, led by the Culinary Executive Chef from the Royal Plaza on Scotts in Singapore, decided to create something that has never been done before in the history of Formula One racing.
According to our source, Klik.tv, the creators of Formula One bread race car used more than one thousand loaves of bread of about 22 different types. In addition to that, the team also had to use 33 pounds worth of yeast, about 14 liters of water, and 4 pounds of salt, just to turn the car into a ‘bread-winner’.
Now we know the Singapore Grand Prix is set to happen in a month’s time and it probably isn’t a coincidence that these folks decided to turn a month’s worth of bread into a replica of a Formula One race car just in time for the race. The only problem we have with that is whether or not the race car would still be ‘fresh’ by then.
It took longer than anyone would have liked but it nevertheless is still a case of ‘better late than never’.
The British Steam Car Challenge team has finally achieved its goal of becoming the fastest steam-powered streamliner in the world. Driven by Charles Burnett III, the streamliner clocked in an official two-way average of 139.843 miles per hour, besting the previous average speed of 127 miles per hour, which was set by Fred Marriot on board a Stanley Steamer back in 1906. If you’re doing your math, that record has stood for 103 years!
No wonder the folks at the British Steam Car Challenge were so hell bent on besting that time.
Burnett III drove the vehicle twice, posting times of 136.103 for the first run and 151.085 mph for the second run. Overseeing the whole record-breaking milestone was, of course, the FIA, which will officially hand the record over to its new owners after having not touched the previous mark for well over a century.
For a lot of us who are in tune with cars, the recent news that the Gumpert Apollo Sport broke the Nurburgring lap record for a road-production car with a time of 7:11.57 caught us off-guard. It wasn’t because we didn’t think the Apollo could do it, but it was more because we knew that the ‘record time’ the folks at Gumpert claimed the Apollo did was still about 16 seconds slower than the actual world-record holder, the Radical SR8 achieved when it set a blistering time of 6:55 at the very same track.
As it turns out, the folks at Radical may have also heard of Gumpert’s proclamations and promptly set the record straight the only way they know how: shatter it again. We mentioned a couple of days ago about the new car Radical is developing that would succeed the SR8 in the record books – the SR8LM.
So in an effort to clear up the confusion, Radical let the SR8LM loose at the Nurburgring where it ran wild around the lap to break the record held by its predecessor by a staggering seven seconds, clocking in at 6:48.
Yesterday, we featured the Gumpert Apollo Sport setting a road-production car lap record at the Nurburgring with a time of 7:11.57. The time, which was set by Florian Gruber, proved that the Apollo Sport is one mean driving machine. Today, we have the a video of the ‘record-setting’ lap, courtesy of our good friends at Sport Auto.
There, of course, remains some scepticism as to whether or not the Apollo Sport did break the record especially considering that the Radical SR8, another car that falls into the category of ‘road-production vehicle’, blasted through the same track at 6:55 four years ago.
But that’s a debate for another time. We’re here to acknowledge the achievement of the folks from Gumpert. Record or not, a time of 7:11.57 by a road-production car at the extremely demanding Nurburgring Nordscheif is an accomplishment in every sense of the word.
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