Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde
Alfa Romeo decided to create a viral campaign in order to promote the launch in the United Kingdom of the MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde. They named it the MiTo Aquabatic Challenge and its aim was to set a world record for bursting the most water balloons with a car. The driver behind the wheel of the car was professional stunt driver Terry Grant who managed to burst almost all of the 2738 balloons.
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde
The Italian automaker didn’t say anything whether this record is official or not. Part of this campaign was a social media element which had fans of the Alfa Romeo UK Facebook page guess how many balloons were smashed. The winner went home with the remaining balloons and he also won a track day at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.
The Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde comes with a MultiAir engine that develops 168 hp (170 PS / 125 kW) and it is the newest addition to the MiTo lineup in the United Kingdom. The starting price for this model is 18,755 pounds OTR.
Source: Alfa Romeo UK
Post tags: Tags: Alfa Romeo, alfa romeo mito quadrifoglio verde, alfa-romeo-mi.to, entertainment, record
It was bound to happen sooner or later, Peugeot’s EX1 concept is not the fastest EV car on the Nurburgring as its record of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds has been taken down by Toyota. In fact, the car is a modified Radical by the name of EV P001 and was driven by Jochen Krumbach who managed to do the 12.9 miles (20.8 km) distance in 7 minutes and 47.794 seconds, way better than what the French were capable of. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6E4CskXqWc[/youtube]
The car comes with a 41.5 kWh lithium-ceramic battery pack that powers two electric motors that generate 375 hp (381 PS / 280 kW) and a torque of 590 Nm. With a curb weight of just 2,138 lb (970 kg), the P001 is able to zap to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, before it hits a maximum speed of 162 mph (260 km/h).
Source: Toyota Motorsport
Post tags: Tags: electric-vehicle, ev, Green, nurburgring, radical, record, toyota ev p001
2011 Ford F-250 SuperDuty
You know how things are going with records these days. Once some breaks one, another person tries to do even better. The same thing goes for land speed record categories where each and every single year at least a couple of records are taken down. As a consequence, this shouldn’t come as a surprise that new records were established last weekend for production diesel and biodiesel trucks in Utah at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
What’s interesting is that the record-breaker was an almost stock 2011MY Ford F-250 SuperDuty pickup truck. It managed to hit an impressive speed of 171 mph while running on standard diesel while with soy-based B20 biodiesel it managed to reach a maximum speed of 182 mph. Although this is great, how many people would drive a pickup truck at that speed?
As we were saying, that pickup truck was almost standard, what they did modify was the fuel pump in order to boost the fuel flow, as well as the PowerStroke V8 6.7-liter engine’s fuel injectors, compression ratio and turbochargers.
Needless to say, for safety reasons they had to install a full roll cage as well as a 5-point safety harness and probably the truck was lowered a little bit.
These speeds were achieved by the team Hajek Motorsports who is owned by Brent Hajek, a soybean and corn farmer from Oklahoma. The modifications brought to the car were done in collaboration with the Blue Oval.
Source: Ford via Green Car Reports
Post tags: Tags: Ford, ford f-250, ford f-250 superduty, Green, land speed record, record
Skoda Fabia GreenLine
If you didn’t know, the man in this photo, Gerhard Plattner is the current world champion as far as economy driving is concerned. His latest achievement is driving this Skoda Fabia GreenLine from Austria to Denmark without stopping to refuel the eco hatchback. In other words, the Fabia’s 45-liter gasoline tank was enough to cover a distance of 1,246 miles (2,006 km).
His trip started on May 10 in Reutte, Austria, arriving in Bov, Denmark and after that going back. Most of the distance was done on motorways and the tiny 1.2-liter diesel engine under the hood of this Fabia GreenLine managed to average just 2.2 liters / 100 km (106.4 mpg US / 127.8 mpg UK).
To make sure that Plattner won’t refuel the car during his trip, the journey was supervised by the International Police Motor Corporation that also sealed the Fabia’s tank before starting the trip.
Source: Carscoop
Post tags: Tags: record, skoda fabia greenline
Bugatti impressed a lot of people when it presented the Veyron hypercar, which broke the world speed record for a production model. Soon after that, Shelby Super Cars revealed the Ultimate Aero TT model, which stole the crown from the European company.
As you no doubt know by now, Bugatti fought back a few months ago, and released the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, which achieved a new world record of 267.81 mph.
As soon as the news hit, rumors began to fly around that SSC would gladly pick up the gauntlet and reveal an improved Ultimate Aero, to take down the Veyron SS.
Now, the first shots of the SSC Ultimate Aero II have been leaked, and posted by the guys at Jalopnik. The new model is much more attractive than the TT, and you can clearly see the work of Jason Castriota, now lead designer at Saab.
No other details are know, but you can be sure that this car is built with just one purpose, taking the world speed record from the Veyron Super Sport and bringing it back to the USA.
Post tags: Tags: bugatti veyron super sport, land speed record, record, shelby super cars, SSC, ssc ultimate aero, ssc ultimate aero ii
You know what car would be perfect for a Bonneville land speed record attempt? The Suzuki Kizashi!
That’s what the guys from Road & Track believed, as the magazine went to work, with the help of customizer Richard Holdener, on a tuned Kizashi that would break the speed record on the famous salt flats of Bonneville.
As such, with an overhauled four cylinder engine and a turbocharger capable of blasting 16 pounds of boost, the Suzuki Kizashi reached an impressive 203 mph, and now holds the land speed record in the Blown Gas Coupe category.
Check out the two record breaking videos after the jump.
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Post tags: Tags: bonneville, land speed record, record, Suzuki, suzuki-kizashi, Tuning, Video
School buses don’t exactly have the best reputation, but at least in the eyes of Paul Stender and his crew at Indy Boys Inc., the large yellow vehicles make for perfect platforms.
A platform for what, you ask? For a jet engine taken from a Phantom fighter plane.
That’s right, the guys manufactured their own custom school bus, and fitted a jet engine allowing the vehicle, called The School Time Jet-Powered School Bus, to reach a speed of 367 mph.
Why would anyone combine such things? According to Stender, it’s because he wants to keep kids off drugs, and also just because it was extremely cool to see a school bus, with flame decals on the side, and real flames coming out of the jet engine in the rear.
If you want to check out this monstrosity, then hit the jump.
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Post tags: Tags: customization, jet, record, school, school bus, Special, Video
After hearing the rumor that the Pagani Zonda R broke the lap record at the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, we saw the video confirmation of the amazing feat at the beginning of the week.
Now, the company’s founder, Horacio Pagani, stars in a brand new video, showcasing how important the Zonda R model is for the Italian supercar manufacturer.
We also see Marc Basseng, the German driver who drove the extreme supercar the record breaking 6:47 run.
If you want to indulge in more footage with the stunning Pagani Zonda R, then hit the jump and check it out.
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Post tags: Tags: horacio pagani, nurburgring, Pagani, pagani zonda, pagani zonda r, record, supercar, Video
A few weeks ago, we reported on a story that the stunning Pagani Zonda R had broken the last Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record, held by the equally breath taking Ferrari 599XX.
The ‘other’ Italian hypercar managed an impressive run of 6 minutes and 47 seconds, setting a new record for production models (even though the Zonda R isn’t exactly road-legal).
But no matter the technical details, the feat is extremely impressive.
In order to properly showcase the achievement, Pagani has finally released a video of the Nurburgring record-breaking run, so hit the jump and bask in the fastest lap of the Green Hell (for the moment, at least).
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Post tags: Tags: nurburgring, Pagani, pagani zonda, pagani zonda r, record, Video
After seeing the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport set a new world record for the fastest production car, we now get see a new type of record being broken by a very different car.
The 1966 Volvo P1800 you see above, owned by Irv Gordon, has reached a whopping 2.8 million miles (4.5 million km) driven, owning the new world record for the biggest distance traveled by a non-commercial vehicle.
According to 70-year old Gordon, the secret to the longevity of the Volvo’s life is partly due to the tough Swedish engineering, but also to regular maintenance. This means an oil change every 3,000 miles and a new transmission fluid every 25,000 miles.
Besides that, the only large problem the Volvo ever had was at the 680,000 mile mark, when the engine had to be rebuilt. After that, it was smooth sailing.
Gordon also says that he hopes to take the car over 3 million mark in the next few years, hopefully just in time for his 73rd birthday. We wish him the best of luck and plenty of safe miles driven in the old Volvo.
Post tags: Tags: distance, record, Special, Volvo, volvo p1800, world-record
What started out as just a rumor is now official, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport high performance edition has been revealed.
The Veyron really broke the mold in terms of hypercars, and was a testament to the engineering (and funding) of both Bugatti and (especially) its parent company, Volkswagen.
Now, as a fitting end to the life cycle of the glorious model, the company has announced the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport.
What’s so great about this new Veyron edition? How about the fact that it upgrades the output of the massive 16-cylinder engine from the already famous 1,001 HP to a whopping 1,200 HP. Throw in a torque rating of 1,106 lb-ft, and you will certainly be experiencing the best of the best.
Why do we say that? In order to really demonstrate the potential of the Veyron Super Sport, Bugatti took the car on the VW test track. There, with German officials and Guiness World Record representatives, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport model achieved a new world speed record for a production model. The value achieved was 267.81 mph or 431.07 km/h.
The Veyron Super Sport, besides the increased output, also boasts other changes, in order to make it resilient to the high speed abuse it will no doubt receive in the hands of customers. As such, an optimized suspension system has been added, while the chassis was strengthened. As a special treat, the skin of the car is made completely out of carbon fiber composites, which can be decorated, at request, with a clear coat that leaves the carbon exposed.
The first five Veyron Super Sport models are part of a World Record edition, boasting the same paint scheme, black exposed carbon and orange finish. Before you reach for that wallet though, they have already been sold out. Still, you can check out the car at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours, this August.
Until then, you can admire the new hypercar in the photo gallery below.
Photo Gallery: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport
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Post tags: Tags: Bugatti, bugatti veyron super sport, bugatti veyron supersport, bugatti-veyron, photo-gallery, record, world-record
The Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit is definitely one of the most iconic tracks today, seeing both many motorsport competitions, but being also the premiere testing ground for high performance models.
Given the prestige of the track, you can be sure that many carmakers want to boast their impressive lap times as a testament to their model’s worth.
A few months ago, we were absolutely amazed by the Ferrari 599XX’s impressive lap time of 6 minutes 58 seconds, which became the first production model to break the 7 minute barrier.
Now, it seems that the record was supposedly broken, by the stunning Pagani Zonda R. According to a report, the Italian supercar managed an even more impressive time of 6 minutes 47 seconds.
While it’s not official just yet, considering the immense power of the Zonda R, 740 HP and 524 lb-ft of torque, coupled with its track-ready systems and its weight of just 2,358 pounds, such a Nurburgring record wouldn’t be too surprising.
Source: PistonHeads via Autoblog
Post tags: Tags: nurburgring, Pagani, pagani zonda, pagani zonda r, record
