Wednesday 24th August 2011

Video: A Driver's-Eye View Of 426mph

Strap yourself (virtually) into a Bonneville streamliner and enjoy the ride...

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Think the 199mph top speed of the new Ferrari 458 Spider is a respectable clip at which to knock along? That's nothing. So the 268mph you can get to if you're lucky enough to test out the top speed on a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is quick, right? Wrong again.

Well, wrong again if you're George Poteet, who recently piloted (driven is such an inappropriate word here) Speed Demon, a Bonneville Blown Fuel Streamliner, to 426mph on the famous Bonneville salt flats in Utah.

Pushing Speed Demon to more than 7 miles per minute is a 5.7-litre V8 with twin Turbonetics 'Demon' turbochargers and more than 2200bhp. Which is quite a lot of power. But then this is quite a lot of speed.

And despite the wide expanse of Bonneville's ability to sap the sensation of speed, this in-car footage still feels scarily fast...

 

 

 

[louiebaby]

Are those 1/2 mile markers then?

They soon start whipping past them!

[anonymous-user]

Is it just me, or does that seem not actually that difficult to do?? (ok, ok, i know that watching a video is not really telling the whole story, but when things are going ok, you just seem to need to do a bit of wheelspin management, slot the right gear at the right time (not that often due to the massive ratio spans) and hold on a little bit of lefthand down to counter the wind or drift due to the thrust angle?? I could immagine most decent drivers being able to do that??


(Of course, when it goes wrong,you're basically dead..............)

[badlands1]

He would of went faster if he had his sunroof closed

Very good mind, very good.

[BILL PAYER]

With all due respect to the driver its not much to see, just miles of salt and a few flags.

[dvance]

I would imagine the sensation of being in that cockpit while it's going at >350mph is quite something .

[blearyeyedboy]

Max_Torque said:

Is it just me, or does that seem not actually that difficult to do?? (ok, ok, i know that watching a video is not really telling the whole story, but when things are going ok, you just seem to need to do a bit of wheelspin management, slot the right gear at the right time (not that often due to the massive ratio spans) and hold on a little bit of lefthand down to counter the wind or drift due to the thrust angle??

Quiet efficiency is the hallmark of the expert. Every input from the driver needs to be so much better timed and so much more precise at that speed compared to me pootling along the motorway. Movements would need to be milimetre and millisecond perfect.

I'd love the chance, but I'll happily admit that I don't think I've got the skill to do that. (I'll hand my goatee and powerfully built physique in on my way out.)

EDIT: Is it just me who is reminded of Star Wars Pod Racers?

[The Danimal]

Those outside cameras must be stuck on with a very strong suction cup! If it's wheel driven, what's all the left-hand-down about then...? anyone know?

[Greg_D]

He needs to get his tracking sorted out!

I hear halfords have a deal on atm

[blearyeyedboy]

Greg_D said:

He needs to get his tracking sorted out!

I hear halfords have a deal on atm

[oOTomOo]

With that sort of engineering going on it's comforting having a dude with a big bushy beard around.

[wab172uk]

Without any reall reference points, it's hard to get any feel for the speed the car is traveling.

[Munich]

wab172uk said:

Without any reall reference points, it's hard to get any feel for the speed the car is traveling.

+1. Doesn't really do anything for me.

[Major Fallout]

I think I would feel better with a bigger wheel.

[JumpinJack]

Going off on a slight tangent... every time I see those shaped "steering wheels", I think of this...

oops

[Carl_Spackler]

He'd have gone much faster if he wasn't towing that Navara.

[ZesPak]

JumpinJack said:

Going off on a slight tangent... every time I see those shaped "steering wheels", I think of this...

oops

That is brilliant! That "mister bean" moment where he tries to use a detached wheel, probably the scariest moment of that guy's life, but that was LOL funny.

[Andysywv]

JumpinJack said:

Going off on a slight tangent... every time I see those shaped "steering wheels", I think of this...

oops

That's made my day - fantastic !

So, this main video is actually about the camera going fast then ?

I presume the Navara wasn't pushing the whole time !?

[Moogle]

JumpinJack said:

Going off on a slight tangent... every time I see those shaped "steering wheels", I think of this...

oops

I shouldn't laugh but I'm absolutely CRYING

[newdogg06]

Carl_Spackler said:

He'd have gone much faster if he wasn't towing that Navara.

[chazwozza]

Haven't seen this comment for a while so here goes....is it quicker than a chipped 335d....??
I'm running away and hiding under a rock already..