The 200 mph club

[Cyclenirvana]

I found these to be interesting tests at Ford's Arizona Proving Ground using the 5.0 mile oval, GPS to accurately track speed, and all non-modified stock cars. About 2 years ago, Motor Trend tested the Ferrari Enzo, Porsche Carrera GT, and our favorite, the Ford GT, in what they termed "A Twist of Lemans".
See the following link:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0410_exotic_coupe_comparison/

Here are the numbers:
Ferrari Enzo, top speed: 211.0 mph, corner speed: 195 mph
Porsche Carrera GT, top speed: 201.5 mph, corner speed: 187 mph
Ford GT, top speed: 200.1 mph, corner speed: 186 mph
Driver was Indy Driver Bryan Herta.
The previous best at Motor Trend had been a Ferrari 550 which hit a top speed of 194.5 mph.


The most recent edition of Motor Trend tests the new 911 GT3 RS, C6 ZO6, new Dodge Viper SRT-10, and Lamborghini LP640. This is not on-line yet. But here are the numbers hot off the press...
LP640, top speed: 191.4 mph, corner speed: 164 mph
new SRT-10, top speed: 180.8 mph, corner speed: 157.2 mph
C6 ZO6, top speed: 177.38 mph, corner speed: 152.5 mph
GT3 RS, top speed: 173 mph, corner speed: 158.5 mph
Driver was Indy Driver Danica Patrick.

Although some of this could be explained by "driver" differences, I can't imagine much, considering Danica is a pretty damn good driver. Obviously, the track is probably not long enough to fully stretch most of these cars legs...nevertheless, it probably says a lot about the technology it takes to take a car to 200 mph on a banked 5.0 mile oval. With the exception of the Porsche GT3 RS, the results largely break down by price range. You can get a lot of value in a car like the ZO6 but there must be compromises as well. It is also interesting about speedometer inaccuracies...Danica says that she "saw about 190 mph on the speedo" in the vette but it obviously was no where near that (probably means a lot of YouTube videos are inaccurate as well).
There is a lot more info on these articles for those interested but I was somewhat pleased with how my baby did!

 

[Empty Pockets]

And remember, the FGT's BODY SHAPE is 40 years old! 'Orders were not to mess with that. The Enzo et al weren't restricted in that dept.

Who knows what these tests would show if the FGT's body shape had been wind tunnel modded for max speed instead of just doing "under car" magic and leaving it at that.

 

[Fast Freddy]

supposedly there is a top speed governor on the GT at 205 mph. when you seal the bottom of a car like the ford GT or Veyron you get ground effects downforce :cool

 

[Fubar]

Nice find!

I think the 205 limit is removed with the "Tune" from Heffner.

 

[tmcphail]

That can easily be removed by any competent calibrator. I set them all to 255

 

[FordGTGuy]

Well a stock Ford GT went 212 mph on Nardo.

 

[nthfinity]

Well a stock Ford GT went 212 mph on Nardo.

A pre production GT went 212 @ nardo... another one could "only" muster up 209 at Nardo.

All GT's will hit the limiter at 205 mph in stock form.

 

[FordGTGuy]

A pre production GT went 212 @ nardo... another one could "only" muster up 209 at Nardo.

All GT's will hit the limiter at 205 mph in stock form.

"Two hundred and five mph is the top speed that the car is certified and electronically limited to," said McGowan. "In testing, we actually got a car up to 212 mph, which is redline in fifth gear. Sixth gear is too tall, so you run top speed in fifth. It got to 211.89 mph, and we were bouncing off the rev limiter in fifth gear and it was still accelerating. The whole objective is to make sure the car is extremely stable, and at 200 mph, it is actually a very comfortable car to drive. Obviously never do 200 mph on a public road. You ever see those signs that say professional driver closed track? I'm that guy."

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/feature_display.cfm?release=18759

You could also say that since that the Ford GT made 212 mph because the engine was already broke in. While the other Ford GTs tested were pretty much brand new and not broke in yet.

 

[cobrar1339]

and at 6,800 rpm and no speed limiter?

"Still climbing when bouncing off the rev limiter in 5th" Assume this is 6,500rpm not 6,800 rpm. From the comments it seams drag had no maxed yet. So maybe 215-216?

 

[FordGTGuy]

Has anyone ever used the 6th gear in the Ford GT?

 

[B O N Y]

yes

 

[cobrar1339]

Bony, welcome back. We missed the the twins as well:wink

 

[Empty Pockets]

Has anyone ever used the 6th gear in the Ford GT?

But, of coarse - to maximize gas mileage on the freeway!:lol

 

[Mark McGowan]

212 at Nardo happened on the last day of testing. The temps were in the high 70's to low 80's every day, until the last day when the temps were in the 50's. The cool air was the formula for big power and speed. Rev limit was 6500 rpm. The other car that only did 209 was already packed for shipment home and was not driven on that day. If it was not it would have gone 212 as well. We installed a new motor just before sending the cars to Nardo, so they were not high milage broken in motors. Just new stock. 6th gear is good to about 175 or 180.

 

[FordGTGuy]

212 at Nardo happened on the last day of testing. The temps were in the high 70's to low 80's every day, until the last day when the temps were in the 50's. The cool air was the formula for big power and speed. Rev limit was 6500 rpm. The other car that only did 209 was already packed for shipment home and was not driven on that day. If it was not it would have gone 212 as well. We installed a new motor just before sending the cars to Nardo, so they were not high milage broken in motors. Just new stock. 6th gear is good to about 175 or 180.

Thanks for the post man. Glad that was put straight. :thumbsup

 

[cobrar1339]

Mark, thanks for the real deal details. While we all like to speculate on what might have been left on the table if any.

I for one, am happy beyond words with what YOU and YOUR TEAM were able to do with this vehicle. It simply amazes me how solid and well planted it feels at speed. Not one review has anything negative to say about this aspect of the car or the ride quality. Nearly all point this out as a highlight.
Please pass on the congrats to YOUR TEAM for one of the best jobs ever accomplished in automotive history. And without argument, the BEST in American automotive history. Thank You !:thumbsup

Ok, now please humor us a bit, do you think 6,800 would have made a difference or were you at the aero limit?. Sorry to ask, but it is a forum and we like to speculate, gossip and imagineer a bit :biggrin

BTW it was real nice of you to come out for the rally. It was nice to meet you ..and I love your sig in my coffee table book ..tag line "Nardo 212". If you see Alex tell him I am not so sure about his tag line.."All the crappy stuff":lol

 

[tpraceman]

I don't know how I know this but the simple pully & tune makes 6th very much a continuation of 5th.

If your going to do this run don't take a rider....the screams are just deafening

Oh and I am that guy whom the closed course proffesional driver note is for.:banana

 

[Indy GT]

Thanks Mark!

How good is that...To have the actual test car driver for the Vmax run at Nardo give us all the facts about the event. Go try to get that type of information from a Ferrari, Corvette or Viper forum.

Thanks Mark!

I appreciate the DVD you allowed us to burn of the test run and I enjoyed your pointers as I slapped the cones in my GT at the Saleen school-of-speed!

We are very appreciative and thankful of your participation at our events and Forum.

 

[Blue Moose]

How good is that...To have the actual test car driver for the Vmax run at Nardo give us all the facts about the event. Go try to get that type of information from a Ferrari, Corvette or Viper forum.

Thanks Mark!

I appreciate the DVD you allowed us to burn of the test run and I enjoyed your pointers as I slapped the cones in my GT at the Saleen school-of-speed!

We are very appreciative and thankful of your participation at our events and Forum.

Indy,
You are SOOOOO right. What incredible stories Mark has about our cars. I still get this silly grin on my face when I think about my ride with Mark at El Toro. Mark, Thanks for everything at Rally II.:thumbsup

 

[Mark McGowan]

Here is a slice of one of the 212 mph runs via Pi data. Speed is not GPS in this data so I do not consider it accurate. We used the VBOX GPS data for absolute speed. As you can see the GT was still accelerating when it hit the rev limiter. The estimation was that a stock GT would do 215 to 217 if not rev limited. The big factor is aero drag which is getting huge at those speed. Also remember that at Nardo you are always turning so there is some front wheel scrub going on to slow you down.