The Race to Build The First 300 MPH Car (CNN Article)

2theextreme

When Karl Benz kicked off the era of the modern automobile in 1886, he did it at the blistering pace of 10 mph. It took 101 years before the first production car was created that could break the 200 mph mark. Now, 300 mph is quickly approaching, and here is a look at four 'hypercars' that are pushing the limits of performance.


Bugatti Veyron Super Sport



On June 26th, 2010, test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel drove the 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged 1,200 horsepower, Volkswagen-owned Bugatti Veyron Super Sport to a top speed of 268 mph on the perfectly smooth 5.6 mile-long straight at the company's Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany, setting a Guinness-world record for production cars in the process.

In an interview with 0-60 Magazine after the run, Raphanel described the feat as "quite stressful', adding that an attempt at 300 mph is "not for me."

His record should be secure - for a while at least - as the 40 customer versions of the $2.5 million Super Sport being produced will be limited to 258 mph. Turns out the tires can't be trusted to handle any more.


Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero



Ask someone what the fastest car in the world was before the Veyron Super Sport broke the record, and they'll probably tell you...the original Veyron, which has a top speed of 253 mph.

They'd be wrong.

Instead, they need to look toward the sports car mecca that is the Tri-Cities region of Washington state, where the the little-known $650,000 Shelby Supercars Ulitimate Aero is built. In 2007, on a public road near the automaker's headquarters in West Richland, a 71-year-old retired pilot drove the 1,287 hp wedge to a top speed of 256 miles per hour.

At the time, the company said that wind-tunnel tests indicated that with enough room to run the Ultimate Aero is capable of speeds up to 272 mph. The Shelby Supercars website is currently teasing a NEW Ultimate Aero coming in September 2010.

In his congratulatory note to Bugatti, company founder Jerod Shelby notes that he's "anxious to show the world what we have up our sleeve."

Koenigsegg Agera



Way back in 2005 the fastest car in the world was the 806-hp Koenigsegg CCX, with a piddling top speed of 241 mph. The then-record was set on a relatively bumpy track in Nardo, Italy that wouldn't allow much more.

The specifications sheet for the Swedish automaker's latest effort, the 910 hp Agera, list its top speed at 245+ (estimated) - but that's just because they can't find anywhere to test it.

Company owner, Christian Koenigsegg recently told Top Gear magazine, “they have a good test track, Volkswagen – but they wouldn’t let us use it, of course...Maybe they would before there was such a thing as a Bugatti Veyron. But not now.”

Anyone out there got a lot of land and an asphalt spreader?

TranStar Racing Dagger GT



According to Florida-based TranStar Racing, its Dagger GT costs $400,000, has a 2,000 hp V8 engine and can reach the staggering top speed of 314 mph.

That is when it is built.

The car has yet to be seen in the flesh, but orders are being taken and the company claims it will be making a bunch of record runs in 2011, including a 300 mph attempt at the Miami Top Gun event on a runway in the everglades that was originally built for supersonic jets.

When it does, it will be running on racing fuel and tuned to produce 2,500 hp, just for good measure. Unfortunately, with pump gas in the tank, the Dagger GT pumps out only1,300 hp.

Oh well.

Then again, with the top down, that might be just enough to get the wind in your hair.

Or take it off.

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