And, now, something rather fast.

[Seldomski]

LOL, video is a masterclass in turning what should be a 1 minute video into 13 minutes with several ad breaks.

 

[Ogg]

It wasn't all that long ago when 500 HP was a lot and only the most exotic or highly modified vehicles reached that level. Today can bolt on a supercharger on a new Mustang and make 1000HP without hardly breaking a sweat. We certainly are living in remarkable times.

What’s even more remarkable is most of those gains are from increasingly sophisticated engine management and not any major mechanical advances.

 

[Seldomski]

What’s even more remarkable is most of those gains are from increasingly sophisticated engine management and not any major mechanical advances.

Yes, drive by wire, in other words taking the human out of the loop, makes many things possible. Floor the accelerator pedal tells the car computer to 'do whatever you need to do to maximize useful power output to the wheels.'

 

[Cameron]

I think the most remarkable part about the electronics is that you can have a 1000 HP car that you can not only drive on the street once in a while but even drive every day if you want. 20 years ago if you had a car that makes that kind of power it probably burned race fuel, had a rough idle, required constant maintenance, etc.

 

[doc]

Maybe I'll have to change the thread title to: "And, now, something not as fast as it seems."

https://redirect.viglink.com/?forma...ar-news/ssc-responds-331mph-video-accusations

 

[James]

There’s nothing yet that says it isn’t true. People are too obsessed with videos. I don’t know why anyone would take a video as proof of speed.
Do the salt flats use cockpit video for speed verification? No.

 

[scott43]

People are too obsessed with absolute speed. All my track bikes either had the speedometer taped over or removed. I guess if all you care about is top speed?? I don't get it personally..

 

[James]

People are too obsessed with absolute speed. All my track bikes either had the speedometer taped over or removed. I guess if all you care about is top speed?? I don't get it personally..

Yeah especially when the professional driver was basically terrified by getting blown off the road by sidewind.

Heh, remember these?-

 

[François Pugh]

Yes. The old first-gear speedometer. The needle would not go past the peg at around 85 mph. My brother had one in one of his play cars. It was designed to discourage folk from driving fast; it didn't work. I drove a GMC Sprint with highway gears and one of these (no peg) for a while.

How fast is "N" in mph?