World record-breaking cars
various- The motto of the Olympic Games is ‘faster, higher, stronger’ – well, you’re about to see the results of that same brave attitude applied to cars. Here are 20 of the car world’s greatest Olympians: the longest, fastest, highest, priciest and – yes – skiddiest cars ever.
Longest drift: 51.3 miles (82.6 km) in a BMW M5
BMW- Longest drift: 51.3 miles in a BMW M5 In May 2013, Johan Schwartz of the BMW Performance Driving School in South Carolina drifted a BMW M5 continuously for fully 51.3 miles (82.6 km). That beats the previous record set by Abdo Feghali in a Chevrolet Camaro by over 40 miles (64 kilometres). There is some erudite discussion among drifters as to what exactly the distinction is between drifting in a circle (which is what Schwartz did) and doing donuts (see next slide). We’ll get back to you on that.
Most donuts: 280 in a Westfield
Westfield- Most donuts: 280 in a Westfield If there’s a difference between drifting and doing donuts, it’s surely the tightness of the turn. Dizziness is the limiting factor here, I reckon, and Jamie Morrow must have been swooning mightily after completing 280 consecutive donuts in a Westfield Sport 1600 at the 2011 Trax event at Silverstone.
Fastest speed driven by a blind driver: 182mph (293kph) in a Ferrari
Datron- Fastest speed driven by a blind driver: 182mph (293kph) in a Ferrari I like the sound of Metin Senturk of Turkey. Not only is he president of the World Handicapped Foundation, he’s also a well-known folk singer and now a Guinness record holder. He’s driven a car faster than any other blind person: 182.03mph (293kph) in a Ferrari F430.
Longest distance driven on two wheels: 371 kilometres in a BMW 316
Michele Pilia- Longest distance driven on two wheels: 371 kilometres in a BMW 316 You might have seen an impressive video of Terry Grant completing the hillclimb at Goodwood on two wheels in a Nissan LEAF, but we’ve got to take our hats off to Michele Pilia of Italy. In February 2009, he drove a 1983 BMW 316 E30 on two wheels for fully 371.07 kilometres.
Smallest road-legal car: Aphaenogaster
NAO Design- Smallest road-legal car: Aphaenogaster According to Guinness World Records, the smallest roadworthy car is ‘Wind Up’ – a converted Postman Pat children’s ride, which measures 52in (1,321mm) long, 26in (660mm) wide and 41in (1,040mm) tall. We’ve found a smaller one though: the Aphaenogaster by Californian Neal Ormond – it’s just 40in (1,016mm) long, 22in (559mm) wide and 20in (508mm) tall.
Highest mileage: 3 million miles (4.82 million kilometres) in a Volvo P1800
Volvo- Highest mileage: 3 million miles in a Volvo P1800 American Irvin Gordon is a bit of a legend. He bought his Volvo P1800S new in 1966 and now, aged 73, he’s covered very nearly three million miles (4.82 kilometres) in it, averaging around 60,000 miles (96,561 kilometres) per year. Volvo has just shot a video of him preparing for his 3 millionth mile, which he expects to complete in July 2013.
Heaviest limo: 23-ton Midnight Rider
The Midnight Rider- Heaviest limo: 23-ton Midnight Rider It looks like an articulated truck – OK, it is an articulated truck – but Midnight Rider is actually a gigantic limousine. Created by Michael Machado and Pamela Bartholomew of the US (of course), it weighs a mighty 22,933kg, measures 21.3m (70ft) long and is 4.1m (13ft 8in) high. It can accommodate up to 40 passengers in supreme luxury.
Most expensive new car: €3m Lamborghini Veneno
Newspress- Most expensive new car: €3m Lamborghini Veneno (USD $3.9 million) Three million Euro is what Lamborghini will charge you for its new 750bhp, 356kph Veneno. Well actually, it won’t charge you that, as all three examples that are set to be built were pre-sold before the car’s 2013 Geneva Motor Show launch.
Most expensive classic car: $18m Ferrari 250 GTO
Newspress- Most expensive classic car: £12m Ferrari 250 GTO (USD $18m) British DJ Chris Evans was the man who splashed out £12m on the car of his dreams: a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO. Sold by RM Auctions in 2010, it just beats the next most costly classic – another Ferrari, this time a 1957 250 Testa Rossa – which sold for £10.2m (USD $15.4) in 2011. According to some reports, though, another 250 GTO sold privately in 2012 for even more than this – a reputed £22m (USD $33m).
Longest car: 100ft limo (30.5 metres)
Longest car: 100ft limo The longest car ever built was, naturally, created in America. Legendary custom car guru Jay Ohrberg made the 100ft (30.5m)-long Cadillac limousine, which boasts 26 wheels, two driver’s cabins (one up front and one in the rear) and has a hinged section in the middle so that it can actually get around corners. The spec list features a Jacuzzi, swimming pool, king-size bed and – yes – a helipad.
Highest altitude reached in a car: 6,688m in a Suzuki Samurai
Gonzalo Bravo- Highest altitude reached in a car: 6,688m in a Suzuki Samurai The highest altitude ever reached by a car is 6,688m (21,942ft), up in the Andes. Chileans Gonzalo Bravo and Eduardo Canales took their 1986 Suzuki Samurai to the peak of a volcano in the Atacama region of Chile in April 2007.
Fastest-accelerating car: Ariel Atom V8
Atom- Fastest-accelerating car: Ariel Atom V8 The current Ariel Atom 3.5 is claimed to have a 0-62mph time of 2.7sec, but with a 500bhp V8 engine, a 0-60mph time of 2.3sec is quoted. Is that really achievable though? Well, one magazine did do 3.02sec with two people on board, so a significantly sub-3.0 second time does seem possible.
Fastest car (top speed): 430 kph Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
Bugatti- Fastest car (top speed): 430kph Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Earlier in 2013, the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport was stripped of its Guinness record because its speed limiter had been deactivated, but it’s since been reinstated. The final v-max figure was 267.9mph (430kph), achieved in July 2010 at VW’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany with Bugatti’s Pierre-Henri Raphanel at the wheel.
Longest skidmarks: 9.7 kilometres
Longest skidmarks: 6 miles (9.7 kilometres) When Craig Breedlove lost control of his jet-powered Spirit of America land speed record car on the Bonneville salt flats in Utah in October 1964, the skidmarks he left measured six miles long. The longest skidmarks measured on a public road were made by a Jaguar on the M1 near Luton in 1960: in an era before anti-lock brakes, they were all of 290m (950ft) long.
Fastest-selling car: Ford F-Series
Ford- Fastest-selling car: Ford F-Series If you thought the 1964 Ford Mustang was the fastest-selling car ever, think again. The Blue Oval was indeed responsible for the hottest property on the planet, but it was the humble Ford F-Series pick-up. In one month (July 2005), Ford churned out no less than 126,905 of them.
Lightest production car: Peel P50
Peel Engineering- Lightest production car: Peel P50 The Peel P50 made on the Isle of Man between 1962 and 1966 weighed less than an average male adult, at a mere 59kg (130lb). Remarkably, the Peel is now back in production with an electric motor instead of the original 49cc moped engine.
Widest production car: Dodge Ram 3500
GM- Widest production car: Dodge Ram 3500 Feeling fat? You need a Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab with the dual rear wheel option. Measuring a gut-spreading 2,438mm (96in) wide, it’s comfortably the most obese car on the planet.
Cheapest new car: Tata Nano
Tata- Cheapest new car: Tata Nano The Indian-made Tata Nano’s launch price in 2009 was 100,000 rupees, or around USD $1,770. The price has risen slightly since then – it’s now up to 142,000 rupees (USD $2,513) for the entry-level model – but the ultra-low price hasn’t translated into big sales: a disappointing 230,000 have been sold in four years.
Most economical car: 313mpg Volkswagen XL1
VW- Most economical car: 313mpg Volkswagen XL1 313mpg (0.9 litres per 100 kilometres) is a pretty impressive fuel economy figure for a car with a diesel engine, even if it is part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain. What makes the XL1 special is that it’s actually going into production: VW is going to build 250 examples, at an as yet unspecified price.
Least economical car: 15.4mpg Ferrari FF
Ferrari- Least economical car: 15.4mpg Ferrari FF (18.3 litres per 100 kilometres) The days of gas guzzlers are fast disappearing. Under pressure to reduce CO2, everyone’s getting fuel-efficient – why, even a McLaren MP4 does 24.2mpg. The FF returns just 15.4mpg on the combined cycle.
That’s all “Amazing world record-breaking cars” in the world
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