Speedo probably wasnt that accurate at that speed anyways. Thats one of the theories as to why they blurred it out (assuming the telemetry was accurate) is that it may show well over 331. By NA law speedos have to err on the side of too fast as opposed to too slow, so the speedo may have said up to 10% over the actual…

Yeah, that seems likely to me. From what I heard from Jason Castriota, the crosswinds (7-8 mph) were pushing the car from one lane to the other at speed. And when you’re going that fast, you can’t even let off the throttle quickly, or you’ll upset the car and likely flip it.

A co-worker and I were traveling to a site, and it was a long day trip there and back. We rented a Grand Prix with the 3.8l V6. I was cruising at about 70 when the co-worker fell asleep, I poked the button to switch it to kmPH, and 70 turned into 113 kmPH and when the co-worker woke up and was slightly disoriented I…

When I was quite young, my dad had a Subaru GL-10(?) that had a digital dash (such technology!). He used to take the car up to 62 mph, ask “are you ready to go 100??” and press the button to change units to km/h. I thought it was WILD we were going 100 miles an hour. Like a lightspeed jump! I could feel it, I swear.

Seriously, a normal sane person who notices this would think, huh Top-Gear seems to have mixed up the video and move on with their lives and let the experts (Guinness) do their due diligence. Meanwhile in the wacky real world we now live in these people spent countless hours trying to prove SSC didn’t set a record.

The pressure should (using my non-tire-engineer logic) actually help with the tire’s survivability at speed. My understanding is that high-speed tire failure usually comes from a delamination or tread failure due to excessive heat. The heat is generated due to the rapid deformation of the tire, so if you can reduce…

And find a driver crazy enough to keep their foot down until the car actually reaches top speed.

I read to the end and still have the same thought I did when I read the intro, “who thinks a promotional video released to Top-Gear is going to be completely accurate?”

A TV commentator on a pro football broadcast said this. “every player on the field today is the best athlete their town has ever seen.”

I haven’t done much track driving, but I went through an SCCA licensing school at Thunderhill in early 2011. The first behind-the-wheel session was a lead-follow exercise in which the instructor would lead us around the course to demonstrate the line, then wave the student around.

Every year I do a track day with several friends at a local karting track. I always try and encourage any of my “non-racer” friends to come too, and they just run in their own “amateur” heat. These rental karts are actually pretty decent (Yamaha KT100's for those familiar), being fast enough to really benefit those…

It doesn’t have to be a sports car though. Even something like a GTI with all-seasons can be taken to one of those classes. I did it with my wife’s GTI two years ago, only service I did before was a brake flush for $120, insurance was $150 for the day through Hagerty. One tank of gas lasted the whole day for me, on my…

That, or go to an electric go-kart track, one where they can get up to 40 mph or so. You’ll have a sore neck for sure after bracing for the tight turns while supporting a full face helmet. Then think about the fact that the fastest race cars corner at twice that and they’re doing it for hours on end while keeping…

When brakes get hot on the track, it heats up the wheel bearings as well. Subaru’s WRX’s for example have problems with the wheel bearings overheating because the brakes are too small and there are no cooling ducts.  STI’s have significantly bigger wheel bearings than WRX’s and lesser Suby’s. Better brakes too. 

Most performance driving classes are like $300. Sure it’s a decent amount but not only is it a whole day of fun, you get to appreciate both how good drivers can be and what your own car can truly handle. Everyone should do it at least once.

It wasn’t until my first track day in my early 20's that I realized how much strength, endurance, focus, and extreme muscle memory is required to push a car to its limits. After working on my skills and putting together a more track-focused vehicle, it became even more intense and gave me an appreciation for the…

I don’t think it was fully prepped for this. Odds are it was mainly prepped safety wise for track use. Full cage, 5 point harness real racing seats, possibly carbon ceramic brakes (based on the squeal early in the video). These cars are prepped for an average joe to try out a track day, not for actual real track use.…

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a then recently retired (now Hall of Fame) baseball player, who was working as a roving instructor in his former team’s farm organization. I asked how many guys manage to scrap their ways to the majors, and he said “none. Every single one of those guys was The Man at each stop…

It was insane how quickly he caught each one, and you could tell they were surprised he was on them that fast, some seemed to think they had another few seconds, but nope. And as a former California driver it was like an orgasm each time the car signaled and moved over obediently. To know such a place exists makes me…

The Christmas truce is one of the things that brought into focus how utterly, completely unnecessary and sad WWI was. Not all, but a lot of those men really all wanted to leave well enough alone, and go home.