120…220…250…When 300?
By Gunnar Heinrich
FORCE. Sheer. Force.
Nothing halts a car from progress quite like the aerodynamic and gravitational anchors of Mother Nature.
And to consider that in one century, what seemed like supercar speed for one car – the Jaguar XK120′s 120 mph top speed – managed to amount to a standard rate of progress for the Jaguar XJ220′s 213 mph some forty years later.
The 9FF GT9 (pictured) a modified Porsche 911 that eclipsed the world’s fastest supercar – the Bugatti Veyron’s 253 mph record – is one of nine high flying exotics that grace a special edition of CAR magazine called, appropriately enough, “Supercars.”
The 9FF GT9, along with Koenigsegg’s CCXR boast 254 and 258 mph, respectively. The next car down after the Bugatti is the 219 mph Pagani Zonda Cinque. Which gives us some perspective.
There’s now a laundry list of car companies big and small that are producing 200+ mph machines. From the luxurious Bentley Continental GT to the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
This begs the question, how much longer ’til 300 is the standard for extreme performance?
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
Zarba | Sep 12, 2008 | Reply
Gunnar:
Aerodynamic drag increases at the square of speed, if I remember correctly. The horsepower needed to go 300, even with a low Cd, is enormous. Probably 2,000 bhp or so.
What WILL keep cars form going 300 is regulation. The cuurent Green mood around te world is making such cars liabilities for their companies. Witness the Lexus LF-A, which will orbably never see production.
Just like 1970, we’re at the pinnacle of this perfomrance era. We may see a few more monsters, and there wil still be some performance cars, but the race is over.
Infiniti | Sep 13, 2008 | Reply
A better question, how long is it till we realize that the roads are limited to 70. And going at 300 doesn’t really mean anything if its in a straight line for 8 minutes.
Jim | Sep 14, 2008 | Reply
The thing about high top speed is that you quickly become acclimated to it and the sensation of speed fades.
Shortly after the Feds dropped the 55MPH speed limit I was on a motorcycle trip through Montana. This was the height of the ‘reasonable and prudent’ enforcement days. Reasonable on I94 was around 100MPH and it only took around 20 miles for 100 to become the new 80.
Performance/fun on the street is much more related to the driving dynamics of the vehicle and its ability to respond to the drivers inputs and provide feedback. How fast you go between corners is of less importance than how and how fast you go around the corner.
koenigsegg wallpaper | Oct 28, 2009 | Reply
koenigsegg is one of cars that looks cool and stylish and so far, one of the most expensive cars i have encountered. i;m glad to know that this runs in biofuel yet powerful. in fact, it has become subjects of koenigsegg wallpaper