Driving absurdly fast on public roads with general traffic on them is a colossally stupid idea, and this time it looks like the car agreed, committing suicide instead of being part of continued stupidity. The Kansas Highway Patrol arrested a man yesterday for going 176 MPH on Interstate 35, and caught him because his engine blew. Which I think was the engine’s plan.
The formerly very fast car was described in the KHP press statement as a
“the vehicle was a Nissan GTS that had been modified to a Nissan GTR for racing purposes.”
That means it was most likely an R31-R33 Skyline — the GTS level was a step or so below the GT-R, and was RWD only. “Modified to a Nissan GTR” could mean a lot of things — AWD driveline, engine swap, more power, who knows — but it’s clear that it was at least capable of 176 MPH. For a bit, at least.
The car and driver were likely in the Wichita area for the Import Face-Off taking place at the Kansas International Dragway. The driver was charged with speeding, failure to signal, fleeing and eluding a police officer, impeding traffic, and reckless driving. I really like that you can still be cited for failing to use your blinker when you’re going almost 200 MPH, or Mach 0.23, if you want to sound more dramatic.
The driver’s name hasn’t been released, but it barely matters, since this idiot is boned beyond hope right about now. His car has a blown and likely very expensive engine, and I’m pretty sure he won’t be driving home on anything more potent than a Rascal anytime soon. Plus, if he was in town for the Import Face-Off, couldn’t he have just driven insanely fast there? Isn’t that the whole point of the event?
Looking on the bright side, I suppose this is a good reminder that you don’t have to have a McLaren-level money or something to drive so fast and stupidly that you screw up your entire life.
(Thanks, Roy!)