We're not quite sure if this is the real thing or someone's achingly period-correct replica, but frankly, it doesn't matter. Drop tank, we want to have your babies. Tiny little drop tanks. All over the Smith house. (We'll name them things like "Tankerbell" and "Tanky Junior," teach them to play Little League, have reunions at Bonneville every summer. It'll be great.)

Tech specs and more pictures can be found here. Email this guy if you want to buy it but need someone to wear the goggles and run around making flathead noises with his mouth. (Hat tip to Kelly!)

[Ebay]

Rosemeyer, known as the Silver Comet, was a famous German motorcycle and car racer almost unequaled in his day. His greatest rival was Rudolf Caracciola of the rival Mercedes team. The two would face off in numerous races, with Rosemeyer behind the wheel of the awesome Auto Union Type C, until the final showdown in 1938 when Adolf Hitler demanded a world record speed from a German car with a German driver.

Both men made passes on a stretch of autobahn, attempting to outdo each others high speed. Caracciola finally set the record at 268 MPH in his gleaming Mercedes. Rosemeyer jumped into his rekordwagen and took off down the long stretch attempting to chase that record. Whether or not he made it, or would have made it, is a matter of historical guesswork as the car met aerodynamic difficulties and flew into the air, flipping twice and killing Rosemeyer.

The Audi Rosemeyer concept, which influenced both the Audi R8 and Bugatti Veyron, was named for him.

[via Wired, Photo: Serious Wheels]

So far, the Bloodhound project has received a donated Eurojet EJ200 fighter jet engine that should propel the car to about the 300 MPH mark. At that point a "hybrid" rocket will take over boosting the vehicle to the 1000 MPH point — and beyond. Of course, the whole Bloodhound will be a hybrid — a jet/rocket hybrid. That's the kind of green engineering we can get behind. [AutoMotto] (Hat tip to Matthew!)

Veni Vidi Vici - It came, it saw, it conquered. Nardo, the epitome of high speed on the fastest oval track in the world.

October 21st, 2007. A 4am wake-up Espresso has to suffice. The remaining drowsiness disappears as soon as the 6.5 ltr. V12, now with 663 hp, is fired up. Re-torque the wheels once again. After checking the pressure of the new Continental V-max tires the edo competition LP 640 Versione Nardo rolls onto the 12.6 km (7.8 miles) long oval.

Each contestant has 3 laps: The first one as the warm-up lap, the second one as the high-speed lap and the third one as the cool down lap. By now it's 6am, the sun is rising over the test track. It's chilly with light winds, but above all - It's dry. On this Sunday morning the warm-up lap is driven at speeds between 280 and 300 km/h (174-186 mph). Particular attention is paid to vibrations, oil- and water-temperatures. It feels good, the LP 640, and thanks to the newly developed rear wing it's so fantastically stable, as if the tires were glued to the south-Italian tarmac.

Now it's on. The second lap counts and the growl of the V12 is turning into an infernal shriek as the revs rise - similar to a chainsaw cutting through a giant sequoia tree. Wide open throttle is the norm now and even at 280 km/h (174 mph) one is still being pushed into the seat. Meanwhile in 6th gear the raging bull comfortably eclipses the 340 km/h (211 mph) mark, but there's more. 345.7 km/h (214.8 mph) is what TÜV-Rheinland's meticulously accurate and incorruptible GPS-based measuring system shows.

Cool down lap - Not without pride the engine is brought back into more sedate rev ranges, with the knowledge to have achieved the fastest ever recorded top speed of a Lamborghini!

Even the newly developed rear wing could prove itself in these extreme conditions. No drop in top speed - far from it, and absolutely stable driving behavior even at these high speeds.

With this result Edo competition has clearly proven that even small modifications like an ECU recalibration, new high flow air filters and high performance catalytic converters specifically designed for the LP 640 can have a resounding effect.

Our thanks go to Continental, AutoBildSportscars, TÜV-Rheinland and Mr. Thomas Budde, Prof. M.D., who measured the heart rate of Edo Karabegovic and the other pilots during the runs.

While for some test drivers heart rates equaling those of top athletes were measured, our results were well within the comfort range with a peak of 150 beats per minute.

Driven by this fantastic success the team of edo competition Motorsport will field the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640 with considerably more power next time. The goal is 700 hp, which should allow for a top speed in excess of 360 km/h (224 mph).[World Car Fans]

Press Release: World Record of 330.6 km/h (205.2 mph) Set in Nardo The Maybach 57 with BRABUS SV12 S Biturbo Engine The World's Fastest and Most Exclusive Ultra-Luxury Sedan

A world-record speed of 330.6 km/h (205.2 mph) set on the high-speed test track in Nardo, Italy; BRABUS added to its extensive collection of automotive records with a Maybach 57 powered by a 730-hp (720 hp SAE net) / 537-kW BRABUS SV12 S Biturbo engine. It is the world's fastest and most exclusive ultra-luxury sedan. The BRABUS engineers and test drivers bested their own record set in 2005 when a Maybach 57 powered by a BRABUS SV12 Biturbo engine with 640 hp (631 hp SAE net) / 471 kW was clocked at 314 km/h (195 mph).

The SV12 S Biturbo evolution of the 6.3-liter displacement engine was originally developed for the BRABUS ROCKET, the four-door car based on the Mercedes CLS series. In October of 2006 it set a speed record for street-legal sedans of 365.7 km/h (227.2 mph), a record that still stands today.

For power increase of the turbocharged Maybach 12-cylinder engine from standard 550 hp (543 hp SAE net) / 405 kW to 730 hp (720 hp SAE net) / 537 kW BRABUS followed its tradition of increasing engine displacement. The BRABUS engineers developed a special crankshaft with longer stroke, precision-balanced piston rods and larger pistons to account for the increased cylinder bore. Displacement grows from standard 5.5 to 6.3 liters (335 to 385 cu. in.).

The inner workings of the engine are modified with precision-machined cylinder heads and special camshafts. The engine peripherals are tuned for more power with the help of a high-performance turbocharging system with special manifolds, two larger turbochargers, more efficient intercoolers, and a stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system with metal catalysts.

Custom-programmed engine electronics coordinate the perfect interaction of all high-performance components and ensure that the engine meets stringent EURO IV emission limits. The standard 250-km/h (155 mph) speed limit is also eliminated. The peak torque of 1,320 Nm (974 lb-ft) is limited by the engine electronics to 1,100 Nm (811 lb-ft).

The enormous power of the BRABUS SV12 S Biturbo engine is transferred to the rear wheels via a reinforced five-speed automatic transmission. For the lubrication of the entire drivetrain BRABUS relies exclusively on ARAL high-performance lubricants.

The top speed of 330.2 km/h (205.2 mph) places enormous demands on tires and wheels. The BRABUS suspension engineers developed forged 21-inch BRABUS Monoblock VI light-alloy wheels specifically for the Maybach. The fully polished multi-piece wheels with six double spokes perfectly fill the space beneath the wheel arches. They are mounted in size 9.0Jx21 in front with size 275/40 R 21 tires, and in size 10.5Jx21 with size 315/35 R 21 tires on the rear axle.

For further increased driving safety the BRABUS air-suspension module lowers the ride height by some 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) without compromising the unique ride comfort.

BRABUS refines the elegant lines of Maybach not just with a lowered ride height and with large wheels. The front of the sedan can be upgraded with two auxiliary headlights that serve as daytime running lights. They are stylishly integrated into the production front apron.

Exclusive BRABUS light design is also available for the sides and the rear of the Maybach: LED lights integrated into the body that illuminate the ground beside and behind the luxury sedan can be activated via the keyless fob. They help avoid unfortunate missteps into potholes or puddles in the dark. The rear of the Maybach is further upgraded with the ultra-flat tailpipes of the BRABUS sport exhaust system.

BRABUS also offers exclusive custom-tailored interiors and state-of-the-art multimedia technology for all Maybach models. Owners of the luxury sedan can choose from the finest leathers and Alcantara in any desired color and design.

Special loving attention to detail is present in the waffle-patterned leather carpeting that alone uses several kilometers of the finest thread, sewn with utmost precision. Custom-tailored BRABUS lambs wool floor mats caress the occupants' feet.

The BRABUS development team also created additional interesting features for the standard entertainment system of the Maybach. The 16:9 flat screens integrated into the back of the front seats measure 15.2 inches in the BRABUS version (standard: 9 inches). An additional 6-disc DVD changer rounds out the BRABUS multimedia package for the Maybach.

At the push of a button the Maybach transforms into a luxurious office on wheels: The screens the display the computer's user interface. BRABUS uses a special computer designed for use in a car that is connected to the internet via UMTS. A wireless keyboard and wireless optical gyro mouse make operating the computer easy and convenient. A USB 2.0 port, stylishly integrated into the center console, allows connecting external electronic equipment such as printer or a digital camera.

To remain online even when outside the vehicle the BRABUS communications specialists have integrated a high-tech notebook computer in an electrically operated drawer in the trunk. This computer is connected to the computer network of the vehicle via W-LAN.

First, let's drop a couple of caveats on the table. Like many, I have driven too fast before. I've driven above the speed limit before. I've also done some stupid things in a car before — including driving when I've not had enough sleep. I've even covered and participated for a short time in a road rally. None of those things should be commended, celebrated or reveled in. It was stupid when I did it, and it's stupid if I do it again. Now that we've got that settled, let's talk about the matter at hand.

The "Transcontinental Record" for driving once meant something — I'm sure it was a symbol of the freedom of the open road, the success of the national highway system or the achievement of a goal once impossible — but whatever. The '79 record occurred one month before I was born, so that era of driving excitement is obviously not as intertwined with my childhood past as others with fewer and more gray hairs. But for me, that's the rub — it's the past — a past that no longer exists.

Let's talk about the present. Instead of highways and byways of clear and open sailing across middle America — today's roads are continually becoming more and more congested. The roads and highways of the nation were largely unpopulated at night and during most of the non-commuting day in the 70's when the first attempts at the "record" occurred. But as the population has expanded and the suburbs have simultaneously sprawled, roads are now populated at all times of the day and night.

Regardless of whether that's a good thing — it's a fact. In addition to the soccer mom minivan drivers of this world traveling to and fro during the day at a snail's pace, and the vampire-shift workers coming and going in the dark of night, there's also the truckers. The number of large trucks has steadily increased. Just from 1980 to 2000, there was a 82% increase in miles travelled of domestic freight (Bureau of Transportation Statistics), while the number of multi-axle roads didn't increase more than 1% during that same period. (Federal Highway Administration). Our roads are becoming more congested than ever before — and congested with people who don't expect to have a car racing by, in front of, or around them.

Given that, and the need to focus on the road in front of you as you attempt to accomplish a record requiring a lead foot of at least 89 MPH sustained over thirty hours — does attempting a "transcontinental record" really make sense? No, it does not. There's too many innocent lives on the roads these days — and endangering them for the sake of a person's pride and a desire to beat a time from a past that no longer is relevant given today's roads is selfish, silly and dangerous.

The transcontinental record for driving needs to go the way of the dodo bird. Those thrill-seekers who want to go fast and prove their endurance (insert sexual innuendo-laced double entendre here) should do it on the track. That's the place where real men and women, those who realize the importance of not endangering civilians, race. I'd much rather be applauding 24 Hours of LeMans-style max endurance track racing than applauding people stuck to the belief that a style of road racing popularized by Dom DeLuise and Terry Bradshaw is in some way a logical way to spend one's time.

Welles, having checked the books, realized that there was no law in New York that stated one had to be ill to ride in an ambulance. He proceeded to do just that, utilizing one to travel between CBS and NBC, simply to dump money into the coffers of his Mercury Theatre. Six or seven decades later, Roy talked to his lawyer on the eve of application for the 2003 Gumball 3000 and realized that he might legally be able to get away with disguising himself as a German police officer.

At the end of Bullrun 2006, I was out of cigarettes and bumming off of Haller and Herr Roy. Since that year's rally had run from New York to Los Angeles, the classic metric for such records as established by Brock Yates in defiance of the double nickel and in honor of Erwin G. "Cannon Ball" Baker, I asked Alex if he thought the 32-hour, 7-minute record set by David Diem and Doug Turner in their Ferrari 308 during the 1983 running of the U.S. Express could ever be bested. Roy gave me the stock answer; one I'd heard from Brock Yates four years before regarding the 32:51 record set by David Heinz and Dave Yarborough in an XJS on the final Cannonball. There was no way. With today's traffic congestion and the current excellence of police technology, there was simply no way. He was lying through his teeth.

A couple of months later, sitting in my hotel room at the Marriott outside Charles de Gaulle airport, I got one of Alex's typically-frantic text messages. Curiosity piqued, I called him back. He asked when I'd be back in LA. I replied that I had a vacation scheduled after the Paris Auto Show and I'd be home on October 8th. He faxed a non-disclosure agreement to the hotel told me that I needed to get to Santa Monica as soon as I landed. He was going to break the transcontinental record. Oddly enough, I'd flown to Europe on Aer Lingus flight EI 144. I'd be flying back while crossing his path somewhere in the middle of the country.

Cory Welles (as far as I know, no relation to Orson), the director behind the as-yet-unfinished (but coming) documentary 32 Hours, 7 Minutes and Alex had decided to see what it would actually take to do what Diem and Turner did over two decades ago in a modern environment. And as such, I found myself at dinner with Cory's family and journalist Gary Jarlson, who'd witnessed the end of numerous runnings of the Express, including Diem and Turner's epic marathon drive.

Jarlson noted that there was construction on the 15 on the way in from Barstow. We tried in vain to get in touch with Cory, Alex and Dave Maher — Alex's co-driver during his inaugural Gumball in 2003 — in the vain hope of rerouting them. We gathered in the rented suite to wait. Around midnight, we walked down to the pier where we were joined by the crew of Polizei Air, the spotter-plane crew who'd been known during the run as both "Cowbell Air" and "Ozzel Air." The film chase car (a Cayenne Turbo) headed off to the intercept point on I-10. I stayed behind. I wanted to see that blue E39 come over the rise. And at 1:30AM, it did exactly that, with one headlight out — right into a rat's nest of bored police officers who had no idea how many laws had been broken in the last day and a quarter. Maher jumped out of the passenger side and shoved the time card into the battery-powered punch clock Lelaine Lau had flown out from New York after the start.

Alex got out of the antenna-festooned M5 and declared, "I'm never driving again."

Some might call a forward-observation/chase airplane a cheat, akin to Carrie Bradshaw never removing her brassiere during moments of fleshy union while working as a sex columnist. But in 1983, much to the consternation of the other U.S. Express contestants, Diem and Turner did exactly that. After all, if the police can use a plane to spy on drivers, who's to mandate that drivers can't utilize an aircraft to watch for them? The plane — coupled with Alex's expertly-programmed scanners — saved them in Oklahoma, where the previous April, during the first attempt at the record, the trusty Polizei M5 took a dirt nap due to a clogged fuel filter. The authorities took an interest in the machine at a local BMW dealer after Alex was overheard at the airport talking about the failure of the run. By some dint of luck, the M5 was returned to New York unsearched. He vowed not to drive in the state again. But in a classic Dante Hicks "I wasn't even supposed to be here today" twist of Murphy's tail, an earlier-than-anticipated fuel stop forced Alex into the driver's seat. Shortly thereafter, the police started to take an interest in the German sedan with a "Storm Chaser" sticker on the bumper. Diem and Turner survived an encounter with an officer in 1983 Zanesville, Ohio. Roy and Maher would likely not survive one in 2006 Oklahoma. They slipped into the pocket behind a semi as the officers watched the eastbound side of the freeway, convinced that the nuts in the BMW had turned around in an attempt to elude them. The relative safety of the Lone Star state line was within sight.

Maher began to zone out on his next leg, giving it his all and then succumbing to hallucinations. By far the faster of the two, Maher's formidible all dwindled while Roy stood watch helplessly until the next fuel stop. If they were to definitively break Diem and Turner's record (which they felt they needed to do by at least an hour, given the milage differential between Santa Monica and Newport Beach — the terminus of the '83 Express), Alex had to turn off his inner nanny and essentially hoon it to the pier. Which is exactly what he did. From the Interstate 15/10 interchange to the finish line — 54 miles, Roy averaged 99mph — at one point taking an 360 Modena by surprise. The Fezza driver never caught up. And the cops never caught on as the M5's V8 roared through the jacket-weather chill of an early-fall Los Angeles night.

Last night, I talked to La Carrera Panamericana Unlimited Class co-organizer Kevin Ward about the run. Ward took La Carrera outright in 1995 and has won in Baja and a number of other grueling desert races held in furnace-like conditions. On motorcycles. His dad, Jon Ward, won his class at the Daytona 24 and built a noted Trans-Am car made famous by Jerry Titus. Ward and Haller also did the Bullrun in '06 with the ill-fated Stude he'd used to win La Carrera. Needless to say, Ward knows a thing or two about traveling very fast for long periods of time. His words? "I'm impresssed. I'm way, way impressed. To do it for mile after mile, hour after hour? He was like a pit bull."

Back in 1982, toward the end of his life, Welles opined, "I think there has always been an England; an older England, which was sweeter and purer; where the hay smelled better and the weather was always springtime and the daffodils blew in the gentle, warm breezes. You feel the nostalgia for it in Chaucer, and you feel it all through Shakespeare." And you feel that longing's New-World analogue in America; Yates felt it. The Cannonball guys felt it. There was never a time in America when one could do whatever one wanted. But we like to believe there was.

But for all of those fictions we cling to that make the impossible possible; for the longing for a daffodil that must've wafted sweeter on the breeze or glowed hotter against the springtime green before one was born; for Alex's admiration of Diem, Turner and the rest of the Cannonball/U.S. Express drivers; for his rivalry with Richard Rawlings; for Maher's dedication to running flat out; even for Herr Roy's lifespan-shrinking worry about the danger of legal apprehension, followed by his must-accomplish speed bender of the last 54 miles, the numbers stand alone, and the effort behind them trips over the line and makes a sheer and spectacular faceplant into the splintered board parking lot of the staggering — hanging perilously over the Pacific like Manifest Destiny on a megadose of Adderall. Unlike the drug prescribed to folks who find coke dealers unsavory unless they've got a date to impress — but just like the best French champagnes — Alex Roy and David Maher's coast-to-coast blast is vintage dated: October 7th, 9:26PM EDT-October 9th,1:30AM PDT, 2006.

Roy's memoir, The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World, will hit bookstores this week, serving dual purposes. For one, its narrative proffers the backstory to Team Polizei, the Teutonic-themed guise Roy derived for the Gumball rally in 2003. Perhaps more important, at least for automotive information junkies, is the formal declaration it'll issue. And this is it: Roy and co-driver Dave Maher last year raced from New York City to Santa Monica Pier - a total of 2,795 miles across 13 states — in a 2000 BMW M5, arriving after 31 hours, 4 minutes on the road. If accepted by the community of rally cohorts who scrutinize such matters, that time will best all other such records of lore, the most recent clocked this past May, when rivals Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins claimed a time of 31 hours, 59 minutes from New York City to Redondo Beach, California in a black Ferrari 550. It also dramatically undercuts the celebrated record of 32 hours, 7 minutes set by David Diem and Doug Turner, winners of the 1983 US Express.

To some, confirming such an act will always involve a leap of faith; no third-party auditor will certify that which involves breaking the law - something Roy and Maher did hundreds of times along the way. Statutes of limitation having expired, Roy's documentation of proof - the toll and gas receipts, the GPS markers, the time-coded videotape and the accounts from witnesses - can now be disbursed. Insiders will argue over minutiae (for example, the legitimacy of his chosen start and end points). Simultaneously will be an inevitable media tour, bound to stir up several news cycles' worth of real or feigned indignation among commentators and interviewers. And let's be real; it's easy for some to get apoplectic about Roy's chosen avocation, considering the highly illegal rates of speed it entails on public roads, not to mention the road-rally company Roy's kept during the past decade, a story told across several chapters in "The Driver."

Dave Maher

I'd always considered modern road rallies like Gumball and Bullrun — with their whistle-stop partying and multimillions in automotive exotica — to signify the worst sort of new-century decadence; the kind of flaunting, decline-of-western-civilization happenings that feed the tabloids and stir talk-radio curmudgeons into a lather of self-righteousness. These motoring orgies seemed to mock Brock Yates's original coast-to-coast concept, born from discontent with overly harsh speed limits. Screw these new rich, oblivious assholes, I thought, with their Ferraris and Koenigseggs and Saleen S7s, and the high-mileage groupies who rode in on them. Sour grapes or not, such extreme irresponsibility comprises a common perception of road rallies, and not just among schoolmarmish, culture-war types. Of course, rally organizers strictly forbid law breaking, which may squelch their liability but surely doesn't prevent the inevitable triple-digit interstate run.

I'm still not over that perception, entirely, though Alex introduced me to a more sober group of rallyists than I'd known existed. These guys treat rallies the way Delta Force handles a special op. They seek to reduce risk in all of its forms, collect reams of reconnaissance data, select the latest high-tech gadgetry, and choose vehicles based on function over conspicuity. For instance, many recognize a sweet spot in the speed/fuel-economy curve that can make cruising at 90 more beneficial than bombing along at 130. They've also logged enough track hours to be safer than the uninitiated at high speed and seldom engage in risky moves — shoulder passing, for example. Simply, their aim is to win, not emerge after seven days with a force-multiplied hangover and an angry protozoa in their shorts.

It's from this mode of thinking that Alex planned his coast-to-coast run - a multi-year effort that cost upward of $150,000. He chose Maher, a banker with extensive track experience and zero sense of humor (self-described), after a search to replace childhood friend Jon Goodrich, who bowed out as co-pilot after two failed attempts (how much can a friend be expected to endure?). Roy oversaw the effort with a manic efficiency, supervising a team that included J.F. Musial, an ex-employee of the New Jersey department of transportation, and another childhood friend, Paul Weismann, who piloted the spotter plane (yes they had a spotter plane, a Cessna). An exhaustive information-collection effort yielded hundreds of speed-trap locations and local police-radio frequencies, all managed by on-board GPS navigation, in triple redundancy. A cover story was derived; they were storm chasers following a major atmospheric disturbance. When time came to get underway, the sweating of details had expanded to include what manner of sustenance to carry on board (Red Bull, beef jerky, cigarettes).

Supplies

From the moment Roy punched the timeclock in downtown NYC a little over a year ago, a major plan was unfolding. It was a plan that didn't include costumes or parties or redheads in skin-tight polypropylene. It did include some risk, however. And that's just the way stuff like that goes. Like it or hate it, it's done. Let the debates begin. [Team Polizei, 32 Hours 7 Minutes (documentary on the Diem/Turner run)]

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.

The vehicle's "top speed" is calculated by averaging the top speeds of each pass in order to negate any favorable road or weather conditions. Today, on a temporarily-closed 2 lane stretch of public highway in Washington State, the Ultimate Aero posted a top speed of 257.11 mph (413.83 kph) on its first pass and 254.55 mph (409.71 kph) on its return pass to set the new top speed record at a staggering 255.83 mph (411.76 kph). The data, collected by Dewetron's world-renowned GPS tracking system, and other checks will be verified by Guinness before the Ultimate Aero is officially crowned the "World's Fastest Production Car." This breaks the current official record held by the Koenigsegg CCR at 242 mph by 11.83 mph and the Bugatti Veyron's unofficial speed of 253 mph by 3.11 mph.

According to Mr. Khan, they'll be submitting the full monty of test results and whatnot to Guinness on Monday. And some video to us around the same time. Pa-zam!!