Shattering the Coast-to-Coast Record (for a car)

[Ted]

Back when I was in college, I remember the book "Cannonball!" coming out, which was basically little more than a number of individual accounts of driving the Cannonball Run back in the 70s. Statutes of limitations had run out, and the race held a place in history for those who love fast cars and true long-distance races, and thought the speed limit was a pretty worthless number aside from generating revenue on many of America's highways.

I was (and still am) one of those people, and loved reading the book. Even better to me was that the record for the Cannonball was held by two men in a 1979 Jaguar XJ-S. In college, my car was a 1982 Jaguar XJ-S, which was modified in such a way that would have made it a great Cannonball competitor, with the exception of extra fuel tanks. The 5-speed manual with overdrive (vs. 3-speed automatic without), engine modified for efficiency, and heavily modified suspension aimed at high-speed stability and handling worked well. Although I never did any coast-to-coast dashes, I did do many long days of driving back and forth between Indiana (college) and New York (home), and other trips. The best average speed I had from NY to Indiana was about 77 MPH (with stops), and the best average speed I had on a 350 mile or so trip was 86. I managed higher on some shorter range trips. The car got 25 MPG doing this, not bad for a V12. These days, I stick to high speed in airplanes.

So with that background, this guy did something I always wanted to do, just in a different car. His time shatters the previous record set a few years ago in a BMW M5, and averaged 98 MPH with stops coast to coast. It's pretty incredible if they managed it and it's not made up, but it sounds like a combination of good planning, good driving, and good luck. I always found the trick was maintaining a good constant speed, rather than having sprints as some tried to do. Even on the trips where I averaged 75 mph or better with stops, I rarely exceeded 100 on the road. Obviously these guys were exceeding 100, but it also sounds like they were doing it for basically the entire trip and not backing down.

I'm sure a lot of poeple cry out "Think of the children!" on the other hand, I'm happy to see that some people have the guts to do something for no reason other than it's a phenomenal accomplishment. We've lost a lot of that in society these days.

http://jalopnik.com/i-really-think-it-s-a-damn-shame-that-a-media-outlet-as-1455984640

 

[VanDy]

Wanna do a road trip? We'd have to take your car though, mine wont go 98

I actually just saw (on TV) that exact jaguar on Gas Monkey Garage this week. They bought it because Dennis has won the Bullrun twince now.

http://www.gasmonkeygarage.com/bullrun-and-the-50000-bet/

 

[Sac Arrow]

I saw that article. At an average speed of over 100 mph, including stops and traffic, I have to say there is some needle movement on my bull**** meter.

 

[EppyGA]

Yep, they got a picture of the sun rising in the West as they drove into L.A.

 

[Ted]

Yep, they got a picture of the sun rising in the West as they drove into L.A.

That was the sun setting.

Left NYC when it was dark.

 

[LJS1993]

Man that was a great movie.

 

[FormerHangie]

I have mixed feelings about stuff like that. It's really neat that they did what they did, but in doing it they exposed a lot of people to a danger that those people didn't sign up for. I'd say in most of the US you can drive 85 or 90 mph without exposing your fellow motorists to too much risk, but beyond that, not many people are expecting the sort of closing rates that occur when you're going 20 - 30 mph above what the fast lane's doing.

When you're still relatively young and still have good night vision and quick reaction times, it's hard to understand that there are older drivers and fatigued, bleary eyed truckers on the road who may have a very hard time judging how fast those headlights in the mirror are approaching. Another thing I wonder is if the driver of that car is willing to put himself in serious danger to avoid involving an innocent party in a crash. If someone does change lanes in front of him, is he willing to go off the road to avoid hitting them, or is he going to rearend that other driver and involve him in something he didn't sign up for?

I'm also surprised they pushed it up to 158 mph. While it's fun to go that fast in a car, there's not much transportation utility in in because of the fuel consumption. I saw an episode of Top Gear where the boys were running a Bugatti Veyron at VW's test track to see if it would indeed do the car's advertised top speed. They said that the tires were only rated for 15 minutes at that speed, but it would not be an issue, because the fuel tank would be empty in 10.

 

[Kelvin]

Ted...man...this is tempting...

 

[Katamarino]

I have mixed feelings about stuff like that. It's really neat that they did what they did, but in doing it they exposed a lot of people to a danger that those people didn't sign up for.

...here are older drivers and fatigued, bleary eyed truckers on the road who may have a very hard time judging how fast those headlights in the mirror are approaching.

You could equally say that we didn't sign up for the dangers posed by older drivers who couldn't meet today's test standards, or truckers who have been driving far longer than they should have without taking a rest. Life has risks.

At least these guys are doing something interesting, and planned it properly, with practice and training. I'd far rather meet them on the road, on the top of their game, than some idiot on a cell phone and drinking a latte.