13 October 2009 - 14:00
Salt shaker
Land speed record cars can get rather confusing. There's the 763mph Thrust SSC (officially the world's fastest car); the 350mph JCB Dieselmax (the world's fastest diesel); the upcoming 1,000mph Bloodhound with its rockets and jets; and now this - the 330mph Spectre Performance Infidel, which has just become the world’s fastest petrol-powered car.
And it's a Cadillac. Yup, somewhere in that sleek cigar of a body lurks a V8 lifted from a 70s Caddy, but pumped up to 8.7 litres, boosted by two turbos and kicking out a massive 1,900bhp.
And unlike most land speed cars, it runs purely on good ol' gasoline. The blokes who built it simply turned up at Bonneville, gave the Caddy a shunt in the right direction, fired up the big engine - which looks very much like a shonky bump start - then cracked 330mph in just three runs.
Then they went home to dream up the next plan. They reckon the car's got "a lot left in it", and will be back on the salt next year going for 400mph...
Watch the warp-speed video:
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Weirdly the diesel powered landspeedrecordcar is still faster
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@ Da_Vincentius: it doesn't quite work that way. For every extra mph you need more and more bhp. The amount of bhp needed increases exponentially. Anyway, the shape of this... car reminds me of those high-speed bicycles, thos weird recumbent bikes with canopies covering everything.
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y don't they put a top fueler drag engine in it witch has 8000 hp imagine how much faster that would go
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i wonder what size tank it has?
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Like Da_Vincentius says, it doesn't seem that fast compared to what production cars are achieving these days.
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There is a reason for the diesel being able to acheive a greater topspeed, this is because, Diesel has more torque, which means, a greater build up, and because diesel doesnt burn as fast as petrol it lasts longer and can put the power, which is an astonishing 1900bhp, down onto the salt flats.
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Imagine that around The Ring. (I say the ring because I can't spell Nürburgring Nordschleife. I bet it corners great. Something for Hammond to look into, carefully.
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@nHeroGo ..erm i don't think it's designed for corners let alone the ring!
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@Da_Vincentius: A veyron won't get to that speed on salt, on salt it would probably max out around 200mph. Salt is very different from tarmac. @Jamman: A dragster won't go to those speeds, it's gearbox isn't made for it, and if they adjust the gearbox then it would run out of gaz at the middle or just explode. Dragsters are made for -10sec runs, not topspeed
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put some wing mirrors & indicators and put it on sale. ur looking at the 2012 caddy CTSV-R. (R stands for AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is what u will be sceraming)
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y does it look like a penis?
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@jamman: As far as I know, dragsters don't use petrol.
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amazing how someone has made a cock that can go 330mph. comment below me, who ever you might be, i bet u 50 yes you saw that right, 50 quid, ur cock cant go 300mph, let alone 330, am i right? u know i am.
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@jamman As well as agreeing with AllKim, I must also point out that a dragster engine only has to run at full throttle for >9 seconds at a time, the engine in that will be running for a few minutes and for a far greater distance. N.B. Several major engine parts have to be replaced after each run (e.g. crankshaft, and the not so major clutch) and each run costs about £15,000, so for a small group of 'blokes who just turned up at bonneville' that's probably impossible. Not feeling so clever now, are you?
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Thats not a car! Its a 1900bhp penis!!!!
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@J4KE.H4M You owe me money.
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to Da_Vincentius: theyre driving on salt and not tarmac, its more slippery AND obviously you need alot more power with a place like that which is alot more windier than a normal test track
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Id be ALMOST inclined to agree with jamman, not abourt the drag engine as such but that they could probably squeeze more power out of the 8.7 L engine. since it only has to last around 20 -30 minutes running. think about it, back in the 80s bmw managed to squeeze something likee 900bhp from a 1.5 turbo!! and it lasted over an hour, it also made up to 1200bhp in quali trim. and i know that f1s dont necessarily use standard petrol but ya know....
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Sorry, did I read correctly? A V8 lifted from a 70's Cadillac? They used a 30-year-old motor, and got 330mph from it? Imagine what they could do with a more up to date heart...
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Talk about Eurosnobbery. They did it with bored out V8s with custom TTs on bloody Bonneville. They came. They tasted salt. They have world record.
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The current NHRA speed record is 337 MPH in the 1/4 mile for a Top Fuel dragster. Of course, those cars run on nitromethane, they barely carry enough fuel for the 1/4, and the engines either blow up or get rebuilt after EVERY run. So yeah, they make big power, but it'd be like having sex with a supermodel; 4 seconds of unfathomable bliss, and if you've got skills, a return engagement in the second round following either a meticulous rebuild or a breakneck engine replacement. Fun for sure, but not exactly satisfying for venues requiring a bit more ... stamina. And I'm not sure what difference a more modern engine would accomplish. Engines haven't changed much in 60 years, save for electronics to make them more reliable and efficient while still producing decent power. And when it comes to making REALLY big power in a limited-use racing application, who cares about carbon emissions, MPG, and longevity? It doesn't take modern electronics to make big horsepower, just lots of air and fuel.
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I completely agree with the above post.
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for a engine upgrade the only ideal motor i can think of is that form the Viper, it's already stupidly huge at over 8liters and they can produce over 2000hp with a couple o turbos but i feel like traction may be the #1 problem on those salt flats, Jeremy barely got his ZR-1 past 170mph when the car can easily do 200.
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What's this, a "Torpedo Roadster"!? Funky thing, I have to admit..
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Da_Vincentius commented on this article
13 October 2009
330 mph from 1900 bhp?? That doesn't sound like much. A veyron will do 250 with half the horsepower and it isn't even as sleek as this thing.
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