<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Speed Record]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Speed Record]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/speed record http://jalopnik.com/tag/speed record <![CDATA[Imagine these car drawings going 1,000 mph]]> The team behind Thrust SSC — the world's fastest land vehicle — have been working hard to ready their even faster 1,000+ mph BLOODHOUND SSC. And they have the 3D drawings to prove it'll be the fastest hybrid car ever conceived. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5791219&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[eBay Hotness: Flathead-Powered Belly Tank Lakester]]> Once upon a time, men were real men. Women were real women. And speed came from strapping yourself into an aircraft drop tank and hauling across a lakebed like a bat out of hell. Plus, there's in-tank video. Hallelujah. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5413052&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Last Flight Of The Silver Comet: Bernd Rosemeyer's Fatal World Speed Record Attempt]]> Bernd Rosemeyer was fearless, but yesterday in 1938 his attempt to eclipse 268 MPH on a public road and set the speed record in an Auto Union prototype would prove fatal. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5141271&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Bloodhound SSC Gang To Attempt To Break 1000 MPH Speed Mark]]> Andy Green, former RAF pilot and current holder of the world land speed record, and Richard Noble, the driving force behind the Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC speed record cars, today announced they were signing on to the new Bloodhound SSC project intended to break the 1000 MPH mark. If they get there, they'd smash the current record by more than 200 MPH. Since the Bloodhound SSC has the backing of the British Science Minister, the team is hoping funds on the order of $16 million will be relatively easy to come by. The key components — the engines — have already been figured out. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5067564&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Faster Than A Veyron, And Yours At Half The Price!]]> Not only can you buy rusted-out hulks on eBay Motors, you can score yourself a brand new SSC Aero, with a Buy It Now price of a way-cheaper-than-Veyron $585,899. As we all know, this thing is the fastest production car in the world, which should be good for bragging rights next time your Veyron-driving buddies are feeling too cocky. We have a few questions about the pricing, though. First, when you're looking at well over a half-mil, do you suppose it might be possible to skip the K-Mart-style $899 at the end? Price the damn thing at $586K or $585K and be done with it! Then there's the starting bid of just one dollar below the Buy It Now... with the reserve not met. What's the point? [eBay Motors] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=365561&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Aérotrains Will Blow You Away]]> Ekranoplan, meet Aérotrain. Developed by the French in the sixties and seventies, the Aérotrain system was a solution to a problem many folk at the time taking on, improving speed and efficiency in the rail system. Maglev was impossibly expensive, and rail lines required high maintenance to keep them running smooth, so what is the next option? Hover trains. That's right, these babies flew down the smooth concrete track at up to 430 km/h. Only four prototypes were ever built (#2 is shown above) but each had its own unique way of hurtling through the countryside. (If you intend to make the jump, be warned, there's a video with French voiceover and Queen's The Show Must Go On, but hey, rockets!) More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=355087&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Alex Roy on Letterman, Tonight!]]> Looks like the writer's strike is really taking a toll. I mean, Alex Roy is going to be on Letterman? Sure, Alex will probably be talking about his book (The Driver which I just picked up — the first chapter rocks... that's all I can honestly say at this point in time) and his flabbergastingly ballsy high-speed, record setting cross country jaunt. But we heard about that on NPR. We're hoping that Dave has Herr Roy drive the Team Polizei M5 onto the stage and perform Stupid Hoon Tricks. Hey, they gotta fill up the time, right? [TeamPolizei144.com] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=342390&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fastest Lamborghini Ever, Edo Competition Sets Record in Murcielago]]> Take one carefully tuned Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640, an eight-mile oval, and a bunch of speed freaks propelled by destiny (and not a few shots of espresso) and you get the highest official speed for a Lamborghini, Ever. This fast lambo was able to propel itself to 214.8 mph with only the addition of high performance catalytic converters, new high flow air filters and a tweaked ECU, good for 663 horsepower. Next time around they plan to bump the Murcielago to 700 horsepower to achieve a top seed of 224 mph. The highly entertaining press release below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=329084&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Brabus-Tuned Maybach 57 Hits 205 mph in Nardo]]> There's a record for everything, though not every one gets equal weight among the record watchers. Take, for example, the title of Fastest and Most Exclusive Luxury Sedan. Show up at the Guinness doorstep with that belt, and they'll send you packing along with the guy sporting the world's largest buttocks-region carbuncle. Nonetheless, Mercedes tuning shop Brabus is still proud of its latest Maybach tweaker, a 57 that hit 205.2 mph on Italy's Nardo test track this week. Under the long, Maybachian bonnet is the same 730-horsepower 6.3-liter biturbo powerplant developed for the Brabus Rocket Mercedes CLS, which hit 227 mph on Nardo a year ago this month. What's more, adrenalin-addicted plutocrats can be transported to the M&A negotiations in style, swaddled in an interior of lambs' wool, Alcantara and an organic polymer made from a blend of Lemur penis and the downy fluff of newborn oven-stuffer roasters. Or something. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=324661&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Why The Transcontinental Driving Record Should Die]]> Yes, I'm well aware I may be seen by some as a contrarian voice in the chorus here on Jalopnik today. But, despite the large number of posts, I know I'm not the only one of us who has expressed some misgivings over covering the topic of Alex Roy and Dave Maher's record-breaking sea-to-sea run of 31 hours, 4 minutes. However, after reading comments from some of our readers as well as those elsewhere on the internet, I felt the need to voice some of those thoughts a little more clearly than has yet been expressed. Some may see me as wearing the hater hat, but luckily I've got thick skin, so I think I'll manage. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=311111&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Alex Roy's Transcontinental Record: Gear Rundown]]> What manner of electronic gear rests in the cockpit of Alex Roy's bicoastal Bimmer? Roll call: Lots of GPS stuff, scanners, detectors jammers, CBs, thermal camera and monitor and other knick knacks. We're not sure where he put the espresso machine or kitchen gear — but those beluga caviar canapes aren't going to make themselves. [32 Hours 7 Minutes] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=311043&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Other Side of the Wind: The Trials of a Transcontinental Record]]> Ahhh, the French champagne has always been celebrated for its excellence! Alex Roy doused with bubbly upon successful breaking of the transcontinental record. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310870&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[How Long Will Roy and Maher's Record Stand?]]> In case you missed it, friend to Jalopnik Alex Roy and his co-driver Dave Maher just shattered the intercontinental coast-to-coast speed record by over an hour. Well, they did it a year ago but its the 2000s, man — you gotta wait for the statute of limitations to run out secure the book movie deals before you break something this big. As Davey G points out, Roy and Maher's accomplishment lends even more credence to your collective assertion that the E39 M5 is the greatest M5 of all. On a personal note, I'm totally proud to be laterally associated with record breaking hoon-history. Even though like the rest of the world, I was kept in the dark (Davey told me all about it last night at 2:00 am). But remember what the Romans told their conquering generals; glory fades. As outstanding as Herr Roy's achievement is, how long will the new record stand? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310884&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Alex Roy's Transcontinental Run: Witness to the Departure]]> On the night of October 7, 2006, I'd headed out late, bound for the Manhattan Classic Car Club. Dashing south from the NYC suburbs in my loyal Toyota MR2 Spyder, joyously freezing with the top down, I cursed the sudden brake lights that signaled a command-presence of Westchester County police. Twenty minutes later, I exited at Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, and arced onto Hudson, just feet from the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey. The glare of video lights shown through the club's open garage door, highlighting the outline of a familiar BMW. I'd made it on time by just minutes, keeping my promise to Alex Roy by a toothskin. My obligation to act as an impartial witness to his latest of several attempts to break the coast-to-coast speed record was fulfilled. So why did I have misgivings? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310815&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Alex Roy Reveals Transcontinental Run, Claims Record]]> The statutes of limitation are up, and that means Alex Roy can release the media hounds, revealing a secret coast-to-coast run he says he and co-driver Dave Maher accomplished in a record-breaking 31 hours, 4 minutes last October. That revelation corresponds with a blitz including pieces in Wired and Esquire, and a memoir, The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World, HarperCollins will release this week. The numbers, Roy says, can be verified by a combination of time-coded video, toll and gas receipts, GPS tracking, eyewitnesses and other empirical info, though won't be certified by the Guinness people, who'd as soon down a cold Budweiser as verify an illegal act. All considered, Roy and Maher apparently bested not only an attempt made earlier this year by Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins in a Ferrari 550, but also the famed "32:07" David Diem and Doug Turner clocked in a Ferrari 308 during the 1983 US Express run. The drive was also recorded for an upcoming documentary. More to come, including impressions from Spinelli and Johnson [UPDATE: and Wert], later today. (Full disclosure: Jalopnik acted as a third-party witness to the run's departure from Manhattan Classic Car Club in New York on the evening of October 7, 2006 and its arrival at Santa Monica Pier on the morning of October 9, 2006, and agreed not to disclose the trip until now.) [Team Polizei] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310735&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Guinness Verifies Shelby SuperCars' Production Speed Record]]> Sorry Bugatti. The dark-beer company that's been tracking the best, fastest and biggest — ever since the company's managing director, Sir Hugh Beaver first argued over which was the fastest game bird in Europe — Guinness World Records has verified the SSC Ultimate Aero as the "Fastest Production Car." As we reported recently, Driver Chuck Bigelow, 71, took SSC's Ultimate Aero for two passes on highway 221 in Washington state, the first at 257.45 mph, the second at 254.92 mph, for an official record speed of 256.19 mph. That supersedes the Bugatti Veyron's still-unofficial time of 254 mph, as noted by Car and Driver and Top Gear's James May. Will Bugatti respond, or will the time stand until Koenigsegg or McLaren get serious about taking a run at 270 with a new pair of cars? Watch for an arms race on a flat stretch of road near (or not so near) you. [Source: Shelby SuperCars] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=308310&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Biodiesel Beemer Sets Speed Record]]> Although we'd imagine breaking the land speed record among diesel-powered motorcycles was a matter of showing up, an oil-burning BMW was recently crowned with that honor nonetheless. This past week, A custom-built R 1150 RT, powered by a two-liter diesel mill from the company's European 3-Series, set the record at the BUB International Motorcycle Speed Trials at Bonneville Salt Flats, hitting 130.614 miles per hour on biodiesel. The bike, dubbed "Die Moto," was designed and built by Oakland-based industrial arts collective The Crucible. Stormy weather and a faulty engine-management computer reportedly stymied the bike, which the group says will be able to hit 160 next time out. [Motorcycle.com] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=301790&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[SSC Ultimate Aero Top Speed Run, Now on Video]]> When Shelby Super Cars' Ultimate Aero made its potentially record-breaking top-speed run in Washington state last week, the company came prepared. A/V geeks set up multiple cameras to catch the twin-turbo, 1183 hp air cutter as it hit a top average speed of 255.83 mph. We've yet to hear from the dark beer types who keep such records, but we're assuming SSC did all the proper record keeping. And hell, it sure sounds three miles-per-hour faster than the Bugatti Veyron. [Shelby Supercars] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=301317&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[First Chunk Of SSC's World Record Press Release]]> Fast and loose, just like we told you. And cheers to our man at SSC, the fantastically named Junus Khan, for getting this to us early:
WEST RICHLAND, WA (SEPT 13, 2007) - Shelby Supercars (SSC), manufacturer of the ultra high-performance Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo, set the new "World's Fastest Production Car" record earlier today with an average top speed of 255.83 mph. Confident of the 1183 hp vehicle's abilities, SSC set out to validate their top speed claim in accordance with the strict guidelines set by Guinness World Records. Among other requirements, in order to meet Guinness' approval, a vehicle testing for the top speed record must race down the course, turn around, and make a second pass in the opposite direction within one hour.
More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=299758&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[SSC Ultimate Aero TT Is The Fastest Car In The World]]> The facts are coming in fast and loose, but here's what we know: At around 9:00 am (PST), an 1,183 hp SSC Ultimate Aero TT driven by Rick Doria Chuck Bigelow made two passes, one at 257 mph the other at 254 mph — they're averaging 'em at 255 mph. The official record held by the Koenigsegg CCX is 242 mph. The unofficial record held by the Veyron is 253.4 mph. This makes the American car the official champ. USA! USA! More details when we get 'em. Related posts here and here. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=299666&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Eurostar Train Sets Chunnel Record, Goes 192 MPH]]> if you've ever ridden the Chunnel from Paris to London, you know that you get to boom through the Loire Valley and Normandy at fantastic speeds, enter the Channel Tunnel, emerge in Olde Blighty just south of Dover and then putter about for for 45 minutes until you reach London. Not any more! The Brits finally installed high speed rail on their end of the run and today, on September 4th, 2007, a Eurostar train did the journey in 2 hours and 3 minutes, down from the previous record of 2 hours 35 minutes. The train was stripped of food trolleys and was only half full, allowing one of the journalists on board to record a peak speed of 192 mph on a GPS thingy. Anyone wanna bet it was Clarkson doing some recon work for next season's inevitable Top Gear race? We think a McMerc SLR Convertible is the logical choice. [MSNBC] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=296249&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Once Again: The SSC Ultimate Aero TT Is Set To Break Production Car Speed Record]]> Bugatti, the end is nigh, maybe. Those lovable scamps over at Shelby SuperCars are poised to break the production car speed record (242 mph) currently being held hostage somewhere in Sweden by Koenigsegg. The unofficial production-car speed record of 253 mph is, of course, safe and sound somewhere in the German French Alps. This time out, SSC has enlisted the help of the Guinness Book of World Records to properly sanction their attempt. To set the record, the 1,183 horsepower Ultimate Aero TT must go really frigging fast in one direction, flip a bitch and then come rocketing back along the same road within one hour's time. The two speeds will be averaged to establish the official v-max. SSC will be commandeering a public highway in their home state of Washington and employing the services of Dewetron (they measure the speed of missiles), which will be using between 4 and 12 satellites to track the Ultimate Aero's run. To refresh your memories, last time out, the TT hit 241.4 mph at a driver-reported "71 percent throttle." I know I speak for everyone at Jalopnik when I say that we expect 110 percent throttle this time out. As for when, the press release doesn't say. Regardless, good luck boys. The full press release and an offer from SSC after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=285113&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Back to the Wind Tunnel: SSC Falls Short of Speed Record]]> Blame it on the weather. American supercar builder SSC fell 23 mph short of breaking the prouction-car speed record yesterday. The company's 1183-hp Ultimate Aero TT was clocked at 230 mph on a closed stretch of Nevada highway. The snafu was snow (damn you Nevada microclimates), which added a hint of treachery from mother nature. Driver Rick Doria made two passes, the first at 221 mph and on the second he said the off-the-mark reading came via 50% throttle. Expect another attempt within three months' time. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=246575&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Juha on Ice! Rally Vet Breaks Ice Speed Record in His Own Bentley]]> Considering a speeding ticket in Finland will cost you 10 percent of your yearly income, driving fast on frozen lakes is probably the more sober choice. Finn rally veteran Juha Kankkunen recently set the world ice driving speed record, knocking on 200 mph's door in his personal Bentley Continental GT. Word is, his spiked tires were spinning even at speeds of over 125 mph. He hit 199.86 mph, breaking the previous record of 184.14 mph, set in 1995 by Gildo Pallanca-Pastor of Monaco in a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244717&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Thrust! SSC to Go After Production Car Speed Record]]> Could the Bugatti Veyron be satisfied with a downgrade to second fastest production car? That's the goal of SSC, builder of dated-looking but nonetheless mad supercars like the Ultimate Aero TT. The company plans to break the 253-mph record on a 12 mile stretch of Nevada's Highway 93. It's doing it with help from MKM racing and the car's own 1,183 hp and 1,094 ft-lbs of torque from a proprietary twin-turbo V8. The company boasts that wind tunnel testing at NASA's Langley, Virginia facility revealed a coefficient of d drag of just .357 and indicated a theoretical top speed for the 2,750 lb Ultimate Aero TT of 273 mph. Whether that's possible in a non-controlled environment remains to be seen on March 21. Stock up on 1200-speed film, kids. This might be a toughie. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244156&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Gunning for a Speed Record: H&R's Promo Porsche]]> Remember H&R? They're the German aftermarket suspension shop selling the 24k gold-plated springs for Dubai sultans' Ferraris. Now, they're addressing yet another mode of automotive hyperbolics, sponsoring a severely juiced Porsche 911 that will attempt to break the speed record for world's fastest street-legal car. The car's given name, Mission 400 Plus, gives away the goal: 400 km/h+ on the Nardo test track in Italy, where it'll attempt to break that 248.5 mph barrier in 2007. Success will put it in range of the Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg CC and McLaren F1, though it's not technically a production car like those supercars (which means it'll get a fat asterisk next to its final number). It's almost like anyone can spend a few hundred grand on a 1,000 hp car, and try to get it to not come apart at V-max. Piece of cake. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=218996&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[World's Fastest Fish: AC Schnitzer's BMW Tension Breaks BMW Speed Record]]> AC Schnitzer's Tension concept hit 206 mph on the Nardo test track in Southern Italy, stopping far short of schooling the Brabus Rocket Mercedes CLS, which peaked at 227 mph during the same AutoBild magazine showdown. But it's enough for the AC boys to call their creation the world's fastest street-legal production BMW. The Tension — like the BMW 6-Series that provides its base — is nonetheless a divisive vehicle in the looks department. And the cartoonishly appointed tuner doesn't do much to bring the poles of taste together. – Mike Spinelli More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=217638&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[It's Official: JCB's Got the World's Fastest Diesel Rig]]> JCB's construction equipment may be slow, but its Dieselmax racer fulfilled boss Sir Anthony's dreams of speed. Anthony wanted to make a statement regarding the extreme performance of his hardware. That desire led to the Dieselmax project, which led to yesterday's FIA-observed run on the Bonneville Salt Flats by commander Andy Green, who set the international speed record for a diesel-powered car of 328.767. It shattered the existing record, allegedly set by trucker BJ McKay, who according to TV viewers in 1979, gave Sheriff Lobo quite a run somewhere in rural Georgia. Ok, ok. The previous record was actually set at Bonneville by the Thermo King Streamliner — piloted by Virgil W Snyder — in 1973 (235.756 mph). More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=196063&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Oil Burner Smokes the Salt: Dieselmax Hits 300 mph in Bonneville]]> Those daring young Brits and their smelly rocket, the JCB Dieselmax, rocked the Bonneville Salt Flats yesterday, breaking 300 mph for the first time. Wing Commander Andy Green took the diesel-powered streamliner to 308 mph — and he says there's room to spare. While the only glitch was a parachute that failed to open, the load of Coors was delivered to the Big and Little Enoses without so much as a peep from smokey. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=195092&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Fastbound and Down: Videos of JCB's Diesel Land-Speed Car]]> Holy crap. When we heard JCB was going after the diesel land speed record, we pictured something exactly like the aero-slip DieselMax racer it came up with. But did we expect the twin-turbo slingshot to sound like a Cummins-powered Freightliner? Damn straight we didn't (tho it makes perfect sense — it is still just a really fancy, low-riding rig with poor cargo capacity). The JCM bunch hit 201 mph in the DieselMax this week, ahead of its attempt at 300 mph later this month on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Check out some of the videos on Farmers Weekly Interactive (seriously), and tell me that telltale clatter doesn't blow your mind. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=192134&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[A London Speed Record?]]> Apparently no one before this weekend had ever driven more than 175.7 mph in London, except in PS2 (though one banker was reportedly clocked at 168 mph on foot following a stop for curry at Canary Wharf). It was a Mercedes McLaren SLR that set the record at London City Airport, outside the jurisdiction of traffic cameras, with Autocar editor-at-large Steve Sutcliffe at the wheel. The SLR beat nearest challengers the Ford GT, at 174mph, and the Corvette Z06, at 167mph. True, it was a publicity stunt to preceed the British Motor Show this week, but in the world of press-release regurgitation (guilty) any obscure bragging rights get column inches. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=188041&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Honda's F1 Bonneville Speed Record Attempt Back On]]> Last October, after Utah's Bonneville salt flats did its best Dead Sea impersonation for about a month, Honda F1's Bonneville 400 team was forced to cancel its speed record attempt. Now, they're on their way back to Utah to try again. Driver Alan van der Merwes saw 256.765 mph (413.205 km/h) during shakedown tests in the Mojave desert last November in the race-legal F1 car — becoming the first F1 driver to break the 400 km/h barrier. If all goes well, he could have his Bonneville record by early next week. Just don't ask him to pass the salt, he hates that joke. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=187303&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Once More with Feeling: Latest Ultima Supercar Breaks Speed Record]]> The newest among Chevy-powered semi—kit cars to emerge from the UK's Ultima sports-car builders has toasted a speed record set by one of its predecessors. The Ultima 720GTR recently performed the zero-100mph-0 sprint in 9.4 seconds — breaking its sibling's previous record of around 10 seconds and destroying the 10.9-second run of the next-best performer, the Ferrari Enzo. The 720-hp lightweight also did the zero-to-60mph in 2.6 seconds, 0-100mph in 5.3 seconds and 100-to-zero in a g-forceful 3.6 seconds — all world-record times for a street-legal car, according to the Guinness Book. And we'd imagine more than a few pints of that stuff were consumed afterward in celebration, though the driver was probably easy to pick out at the pub, him being the one holding a pint glass up to his inside-out face. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=178696&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Blind Driver Sets Speed Record in a Maserati]]> He's never seen a car, or a road for that matter, but a South African man became the fastest blind driver in the world last week, when he hit 167mph in a Maserati V8 GranSport. The 33-year-old, along with a sighted navigator, made the run on an airstrip near Botswana. Though no insurer would agree to insure the attempt, it was certified by the Guinness Book. Next up, he plans to fly a Cessna through the Arc d'Triomphe (well, maybe over it). More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=126292&view=rss&microfeed=true