Discussion
We now have cars that go in excess of 200mph when do PH's think a car manufacturer will venture to make a 300mph production car?
When do PH's think a car of this performance could be around?
>>> Edited by g4ry13 on Wednesday 29th January 13:19
>>> Edited by g4ry13 on Wednesday 29th January 13:20
When do PH's think a car of this performance could be around?
>>> Edited by g4ry13 on Wednesday 29th January 13:19
>>> Edited by g4ry13 on Wednesday 29th January 13:20
Might have dreamt it, but I'm sure I heard about a car, in development, with a potential top speed of around this figure?
What I'd like to know is what are the real world limitations on developing such a road car and achieving these speeds (apart from the law!)?
>> Edited by stedale on Wednesday 29th January 13:31
What I'd like to know is what are the real world limitations on developing such a road car and achieving these speeds (apart from the law!)?
>> Edited by stedale on Wednesday 29th January 13:31
Some crude-ish maths to work out the required BHP...
From memory (so possibly wrong!) a McLaren F1 gets 240mph out of 640BHP. Power requirement cubes with speed.
300/240 = 1.25 (i.e. 25% faster).
1.25 cubed = 1.95 (i.e. need 95% more power).
So an F1 would need 1.95*640 = 1,250 bhp to achieve 300mph for the same drag coefficient (and some suitable gear ratios!)
There's a Chrysler in the works with 1,000+ BHP - I feel a PH project coming on...
From memory (so possibly wrong!) a McLaren F1 gets 240mph out of 640BHP. Power requirement cubes with speed.
300/240 = 1.25 (i.e. 25% faster).
1.25 cubed = 1.95 (i.e. need 95% more power).
So an F1 would need 1.95*640 = 1,250 bhp to achieve 300mph for the same drag coefficient (and some suitable gear ratios!)
There's a Chrysler in the works with 1,000+ BHP - I feel a PH project coming on...
Not a miss print I know about the dragstars but i meant an actual road-legal production car. I know the Bugattti Veyron has 1011bhp and i read a few months ago about a car company called koenigsegg (or something like that) that were producing a car that they reckoned would do something like 250mph.
But wouldn't it just be a brilliant promotion for a car company to produce the first ever 300mph+ road -legal car?
But wouldn't it just be a brilliant promotion for a car company to produce the first ever 300mph+ road -legal car?
I imagine it would be tricky to balance that kind of performance in a package that your Granny could also reverse in the Tescos car park 
I'd guess you need to be able to bring a huge amount of forced induction on stream and have a rather silly distribution of gear ratios so that the car in effect had two modes (every day mode up to a modest 200mph, and then engine melting runs up to 300mph in a couple of gears you would never otherwise touch). I guess the aerodynamics would also have to go into a very definite not-for-normal-roads mode too, i.e. skimming the ground.
I imagine it would inevitably end up looking like a bit of a stunt rather than a natural progression of a supercar, but then again it would be great fun to push the big red button on the dash while yelling "engage hyperdrive and suction pants"
I'd guess you need to be able to bring a huge amount of forced induction on stream and have a rather silly distribution of gear ratios so that the car in effect had two modes (every day mode up to a modest 200mph, and then engine melting runs up to 300mph in a couple of gears you would never otherwise touch). I guess the aerodynamics would also have to go into a very definite not-for-normal-roads mode too, i.e. skimming the ground.
I imagine it would inevitably end up looking like a bit of a stunt rather than a natural progression of a supercar, but then again it would be great fun to push the big red button on the dash while yelling "engage hyperdrive and suction pants"
The only real problem is that people already mumbling things about cars having too much power that you just can't use without a computer keeping you on the road.
See this months copy of EVO.
The other big problem you have is that trying to drive anywhere at that speed your velocity is 133 metres/second. At that speed you would be AT your limit of visible in about 1 second. So it you saw an object on the horizon you'd hit it before you could react.
So such a car would be limited to using it on Salt Flats etc etc.
So as the post above says you'd need to have to two modes of operation and I can't help feel that the power and aerodynamic problems incurred by 300mph would ruin the car for the rest of the time.
Plus as Peter Wheeler says in this months EVO a road car with two wheel drive and 900bhp is just silly, and thats from THE man himself.
But as someone said, it'd be cool.
Andy
See this months copy of EVO.
The other big problem you have is that trying to drive anywhere at that speed your velocity is 133 metres/second. At that speed you would be AT your limit of visible in about 1 second. So it you saw an object on the horizon you'd hit it before you could react.
So such a car would be limited to using it on Salt Flats etc etc.
So as the post above says you'd need to have to two modes of operation and I can't help feel that the power and aerodynamic problems incurred by 300mph would ruin the car for the rest of the time.
Plus as Peter Wheeler says in this months EVO a road car with two wheel drive and 900bhp is just silly, and thats from THE man himself.
But as someone said, it'd be cool.
Andy
Surely one of the major factors of being able to do 300mph *safely* - Would be the fact that you would need to develop a tyre that could cope with all the stresses and strains put on it by doing this kind of speed.
It would be relativley sipnple to design a car that could achieve this kind of speed, but doing t *safely* is a different matter!
It would be relativley sipnple to design a car that could achieve this kind of speed, but doing t *safely* is a different matter!
loon18 said: Surely one of the major factors of being able to do 300mph *safely* - Would be the fact that you would need to develop a tyre that could cope with all the stresses and strains put on it by doing this kind of speed.
It would be relativley sipnple to design a car that could achieve this kind of speed, but doing t *safely* is a different matter!
No doubt it would be about 18inch wide. Just imagine max power people 'i've got a 18' by 18'
would look rediculas on a nova, but i bet it wouldnt be long before it happened.
Lotus had a concept car whereby the two occupants sat in line with each other, like in a jet, making the car only about 2 foot wide. This would give a very small frontal area of resistance. The overall shape should have lower drag than a bike. The concept was also carbon fibre, so the mass was down to around 400kg.
Now if you put in a turbo hyabusa holeshot engine, generating 450bhp, I doubt you would be far off the target speed.
Another engine in the pipeline is a 2 litre V8 Yamaha unit based on two bike engines.
These light weight cars and engines will be the key to a 300mph road 'car'.
Now if you put in a turbo hyabusa holeshot engine, generating 450bhp, I doubt you would be far off the target speed.
Another engine in the pipeline is a 2 litre V8 Yamaha unit based on two bike engines.
These light weight cars and engines will be the key to a 300mph road 'car'.
I remember somebody made a thing called an "Ecomobile" or some name like that. It must have been about ten years ago so my memory is a bit suspect, but it was basicaly a stretched motorcycle enclosed in a streamlined body shell (based on a BWM I think). Looked like the cockpit of a glider. It had two outrigger wheels that it deployed at low speed to stop the thing falling over. It's power to mass ratio wasn't great so the accleration wasn't anything like what you'd normally get from a bike (0 to 60 in 8 or 9 seconds), but it had a top speed of around 150mph becoz it was so streamlined. It was also very stable. I remember they drove it through some Alpine switch backs and it was leaning so far over in the corners that the outriggers were brushing the ground even when they were in their stowed position up level with the driver's shoulders ... i.e. it was leaning at something like 45 degrees and therefore pulling about 1g laterally. I thought it looked very cool. If anything went wrong with the outriggers, however, I think you might end up looking very very uncool.
Much of the technology today exists to make such a propsal feasible.
We already have computer controlled adaptive suspension and adaptive areodynamics, plus there is in the pipeline infinitly variable transmissions (IVT to you and me), and when Coupled with the use of exotic lightweight materials and ludicrous power outputs it is entirely feasible for this type of vehicle to exist.
So it's not a case of can't do it but more likely won't do it.
I imagine most of us can remember the outcry from the anti car lobby when the Vauxhall carlton hit the road, can you imagine how the respective Gorvernments and lobbyists are going to react if someone proclaims and proves 300mph in a road going car?!
I bet it would the donkeys nadgers though!!
edited to say I meant Vauxhall LOTUS carlton, most of us don't give a toss about a regular carlton (unless its painted white with blue, green, red stripes).
>> Edited by tvrslag on Thursday 30th January 12:07
We already have computer controlled adaptive suspension and adaptive areodynamics, plus there is in the pipeline infinitly variable transmissions (IVT to you and me), and when Coupled with the use of exotic lightweight materials and ludicrous power outputs it is entirely feasible for this type of vehicle to exist.
So it's not a case of can't do it but more likely won't do it.
I imagine most of us can remember the outcry from the anti car lobby when the Vauxhall carlton hit the road, can you imagine how the respective Gorvernments and lobbyists are going to react if someone proclaims and proves 300mph in a road going car?!
I bet it would the donkeys nadgers though!!
edited to say I meant Vauxhall LOTUS carlton, most of us don't give a toss about a regular carlton (unless its painted white with blue, green, red stripes).
>> Edited by tvrslag on Thursday 30th January 12:07
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