Best car for 'making progress' over long distances

[Greg_D]

Not that i am about to, but as a gentle wednesday afternoon discussion.....if you had to compete in a very long distance race (think cannonball run), where the absolute fastest way of achieving C.2000 miles on the public road is the priority.

what would be the best car for the job?

initial contenders would be:
poppopbangbang's 996 - very fast, aero, low frontal area, pretty fuel efficient at serious speed
big diesel coupe - quite quick, more efficient.

the problem would be anything turbo would be at full boost the whole time at 120+ so pretty withering fuel consumption, all told...

What would you pick and why? what strategies would you employ to maximise your chances of winning?

[devnull]

Something comfortable - S Class S500 / S600 / S65 or the S Class coupe equivalent would be my choice.

[so called]

CLS 350CDI.
Big fuel tank keeps stops to a minimum.
Autobahn mile muncher.

[Greg_D]

devnull said:

Something comfortable - S Class S500 / S600 / S65 or the S Class coupe equivalent would be my choice.

would an S350tdi not be every bit as quick in traffic and twice the range?
Also, if you are driving like a knobber (weaving in and out, you wouldn't just sit behind every other 80mph fast lane hogger in a race, would you) wouldn't high speed stability and manoeuvrability be key. #devilsadvocate ;-)

[Greg_D]

TT diesel?

[Zippee]

devnull said:

Something comfortable - S Class S500 / S600 / S65 or the S Class coupe equivalent would be my choice.

Agreed, or a Bentley cgt v8.
Yes, there are faster cars such as full on super cars but with 2000 miles you also need comfort to stay alert for as long as possible.

[David87]

Panamera 4S with the V8 diesel would be my choice, I think!

[blue_haddock]

an ex boss of mine used to have a 4.2 TDi Quattro A8 LWB and in real terms point to point it was fantastic.

Plenty of grunt, cruise easily at 100+, reasonable fuel economy given the size and the availability of an optional larger fuel tank.

Sat in the back with enough room to throw a party whilst sipping champers from the inbuilt fridge in the armrest was fantastic!

[LordGrover]

Easy Jet and a Boxster or MX-5 waiting at the other end.
I've never found long distance driving to be much fun.

[vikingaero]

A fast diesel. Refuelling kills your average speed. The limiting factor will be your bladder.

[jonamv8]

my 640d coupe is pretty good in this regard.

[Swampy1982]

factually speaking - this is the quickest car point to point for a cannonball (at the time, with the modifications)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-keCdouECo

[Truckosaurus]

Any large saloon, so you can have multiple passengers travelling in comfort, then you can swap drivers at every fuel stop.

[iphonedyou]

'Making progress' is a cringy term, isn't it?

You can only read it in an adenoidal voice.

[Spare tyre]

You want something that doesn’t draw attention to you

[Centurion07]

so called said:

Big fuel tank keeps stops to a minimum.

This^, above everything else.

I can't find the actual story now but the Cannonball record is held by a car that was fitted with extra fuel tanks so as to limit the number of stops which is what really kills travel time.

[loafer123]

Spare tyre said:

You want something that doesn’t draw attention to you

Very true.

I have a colleague who drives a V8 Landcruiser with 250,000 miles on the clock.

It is extraordinary what speed he gets away with.

[Condi]

iphonedyou said:

'Making progress' is a cringy term, isn't it?

You can only read it in an adenoidal voice.

Is it? Commonly used by bikers to describe getting from place to place without messing about.

I'm not sure how a car can 'make progress' in the same way, usually the biggest thing slowing a car down is another car in front of it, which is less of a problem on a bike. Same with traffic jams, traffic lights, etc.

[DonkeyApple]

Greg_D said:

Not that i am about to, but as a gentle wednesday afternoon discussion.....if you had to compete in a very long distance race (think cannonball run), where the absolute fastest way of achieving C.2000 miles on the public road is the priority.

what would be the best car for the job?

initial contenders would be:
poppopbangbang's 996 - very fast, aero, low frontal area, pretty fuel efficient at serious speed
big diesel coupe - quite quick, more efficient.

the problem would be anything turbo would be at full boost the whole time at 120+ so pretty withering fuel consumption, all told...

What would you pick and why? what strategies would you employ to maximise your chances of winning?

Almost certainly a big diesel. At which point you suddenly realise you’d just be living the life of a divorced, borderline alcoholic, coat hanger salesman and decide to chose a fun car and win at life by losing the race.

[JimbobVFR]

Centurion07 said:

This^, above everything else.

I can't find the actual story now but the Cannonball record is held by a car that was fitted with extra fuel tanks so as to limit the number of stops which is what really kills travel time.

It's in the YouTube link 4 posts above yours.