World Land Speed Record Broken

[Ed Sims]

Is this a joke? It is a prominent article in the August 2011 Road & Track magazine. Some guy from Utah takes his wadded up Enzo (from a Utah Fast Pass event!) & rebuilds it to capture the world speed record in the SCTA (SoCal Timing Assn)) "Blown Fuel Modified Sport" class on the salt flats. On 10-10-10 the Enzo breaks the record with a 237.871 mph. "...making it not just the record holder for its category, but also the fastest Ferrari ever."

Wouldn't this be the class our GTs would be in? There are quite a few forum members that would consider 238 mph a warm up run!

Ed

 

[2112]

Yeah, but driving on the salt! :frown

 

[BlackICE]

I don't think one should so easily discount the salt's the poor traction and the potential corrosion damage to the car.

Doesn't Bonneville time the cars for 1 mile stretch in both both direction, if so that is a much different than a standing mile.

Many different kinds of speed records, they even have one for a NASA runway with very few cars running in that event

 

[Fast Freddy]

238 mph on salt would = ~ 246 mph on pavement due to tire spin (think dirt). a gen 2 viper has gone 246 mph at Bonneville (this would = approximately 254 mph 2-way average within 1 hour on pavement)....

Bonneville requires a 2 way average speed within 1 hour to be a certified speed record. Florida does not. therefore Florida, Texas, North Carolina and California can get a boost from a tailwind, and lower DA, etc due to timing the atmospheric conditions on a 1 way run....

also Bonneville resides at a much HIGHER altitude than the rest of the race locations and the white salt makes for alot of heat which makes for even more of a challenge considering speed week is run in August....

the gen-2 viper that went 246 mph there had a mere 96 inch wheelbase and 1000 pounds of lead bolted in the trunk to counteract wheelspin....

a 2-way run within 1 hour causes heat soak to be a factor on the second pass too....

when it comes to speed records the bonneville salt flats is the standard by which all others are measured....

the track length is 3 miles long though, but they take an average speed over the last mile so in my mind it is a wash with respect to a mile run on pavement where there is no tire slip at 250+ mph....

i am just happy that skyrex sent me a Ford GT club 200 mph t-shirt and patch for my 225 mph GPS run on a 2 lane higway out in Area 51 :thumbsup

with twin turbo's and a mere 1000 rwhp i could go 250+ mph out in area 51 on a 2 lane highway. they just repaved it and it is good for 300 mph now :biggrin

 

[BlackICE]

Freddy Guinness should give you the speed record for Area 51.

 

[Ed Sims]

So you are saying that Enzo would do 250+ on a paved Mile?

Ed

PS And tire slip on pavement can happen in a GT!!!

 

[RALPHIE]

...when it comes to speed records the bonneville salt flats is the standard by which all others are measured....

As is the dry lake at El Mirage - both run by SCTA.

 

[skyrex]

The salt is not good for your car at all and they have huge safety requirements. Full cage, fire suppression etc...a must. I have a friend that is building a car for the salt flats and for the mile as well. A 1,700hp TT C4 Corvette. It should beat that record someday. but that is a very impressive Ferrari. Much more impressive than that car that set the "Guiness record" :bs at Kennedy......what type of car was that again??? :lol

The run at Bonneville, depending on which course you run can be up to 5 miles one way. So you can reach a top speed but it may take quite a while to get there. That car probably would not be a 200mph car at a mile event. Still it is a very impressive feat and driving anything in the 230-240 range is impressive. 240 is my next goal for the next GT Speed day.

Cool article though....thanks for posting it Ed. :cheers

 

[Ed Sims]

Here is the entire article.

Ed

 

[BlackICE]

Thanks for the post Ed.

 

[2112]

I like the tow vehicle better than the car.

 

[Hennessey Performance]

Until you have tried to set a speed record at Bonneville, you have no idea how difficult it is. By comparison, running fast down a runway is like going to Sonic and ordering a cheeseburger. Not to take away anything from any of the fast mile guys. But I have done both and set records at both venues. Trust me, big speeds at Bonneville are much harder to get, much less a new record which used to require a 2 way average with the speed being run over the exact same real estate on the course. If you want to imagine what is is like to run fast on the salt, think about what it would feel like to go 200+ mph on the beach. The surfaces are very similar except that Bonneville is at around 4,000 MSL and in August the DA can be a LOT higher.

 

[Fubar]

I have never been to Bonneville but those who have all say it’s nothing like what you’d expect. Slush is the word I hear most often.

 

[Ed Sims]

I think I'd like to drive someone's GT on the salt flats. It sounds fun.

Ed

 

[BlackICE]

I think I'd like to drive someone's GT on the salt flats. It sounds fun.

Ed

That too funny, I can't laugh.

I guess that is because you never want to wash your car with water and it would be impossible to remove much of the salt without water, or a complete dismantling of the car. :ack

 

[skyrex]

I think I'd like to drive someone's GT on the salt flats. It sounds fun.

Ed

Agree, definitely not my own. :lol

Have you ever seen the tires they run on?? They are really small width wise.........almost like a motorcycle tire. Plus as I understand it is also not for those of you that like "action" as it is a long wait to make your run...as in get in line and wait a day or two for your turn. I'll leave the salt alone thank you very much.

Must say that seeing what the car looked like after the wreck it was not just an impressive run but an impressive restoration as well.