Friday 13th November 2009

Keating Supercar Hits 260mph

Fledgling Brit supercar scoops unofficial top speed record

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The Keating TKR supercar set an unofficial top speed of 260.1mph last month at Salt Lake Flats in California.

It's not unusual for fledgling supercar manufacturers to talk about big horsepower and even bigger top speeds for their planned products, but it is rather more unusual when they actually achieve their aims.

Hats off to Keating then, whose TKR/SKR supercar project we first reported on in spring last year. They were originally talking about 1600bhp from their GM-sourced 7.0-litre V8. Now, they seem to have squeezed 1800bhp from the same engine, putting an extra 3mph over on the current official 'fastest car in the world', the SSC Ultimate Aero. All they have to do now is repeat the feat - to make it official, like.

The carbon-bodied Keating TKR and its less extreme SKR sibling are both built around a steel space frame and use a 6.0-litre or 7.0-litre GM V8 with the option of turbocharging, supercharging or good ol' natural aspiration.

The Keating pair will go into production (in very limited numbers) by the end of the year.

[LCR270]

so the point of this is a technical challenge, surely it'll go even faster without the spoiler or does it need it for stability ?

[BelperJim]

[vetteheadracer]

They should have called it the Ronin as in great petrolhead movie.....so

Ronin.....Keating

[jerwatt]

When I saw the car at MPH it didn't have the spoiler on, not sure if that was the case for the run or not.

[anniesdad]

vetteheadracer said:

They should have called it the Ronin as in great petrolhead movie.....so

Ronin.....Keating

Yes - get your coat! Actually that's quite funny!

Can't see where I'd need 260mph, but hey, it's got a USP if they do manage to do it again.

[peterattheboro]

How long do you think it would be until 300mph is reached?

Is it doable for a petrol engine or will it be electric?

If it is petrol, what spec can we see from the engine; quad turbo V12 producing 3000bhp?

[deevlash]

I loved evo's review of this thing, it was dreadful. Quick it might be, but it looks awful and its rear end looks like a 3 year olds papier mache zonda model. Why theyd so blatantly rip off another persons design and manage to make it look like a bad kit car is anyones guess.
A turd

A Zonda

[pSyCoSiS]

Well done to Keating - that is some acheivement, especially as it's a British Supercar.

Astonishing stats.

[hewlett]

Oh, it's a beaut alright!




Car design, can't be that hard can it? I can imagine the meeting ''guys we all love cars, right? We all know what makes a pretty supercar, right? Car designers are well expensive, yeah, well, we got a computerr ain't we? What are we waiting for?''.

[TVR653X]

I say well done. It isn't the most visually pleasing supercar from the back, but I think the front is very nice; looks mean! What's the acceleration? I read they were aiming for 0-60 in 1.7 seconds?!

[deevlash]

The pic in the article is the only angle at which this thing doesnt look like crap. It actually looks worse than an Ultima which is quite an achievement.

[EDLT]

I know I said this about that turkish car the other day, but this really looks like the Barabus TKR (remember that?)





From Autoblog (three years ago)
"Do we have your attention? The Barabus "1005 bhp" supercar we've been updating you on has finally been unveiled and the details on this machine are astounding. It's a true Italian-built exotic, though its twin-turbo 6.0-liter V8 that produces 1005 bhp is sourced from the U.K. According to Barabus, that motor will propel the all carbon-fiber car (body and chassis) to 60 mph in a mere 1.67 seconds, and on to a top speed of 270 mph. For those who didn't think this supercar was meant to be a Bugatti Veyron slayer, the new Barabus website that just went live today states, "The TKR is designed to compete with the world's fastest, quickest, best handling, most luxurious grand touring cars in the world" (our emphasis). Barabus will be producing 300-400 TKRs over a three-year production period, and fetching one will cost you £360,000. A sharp bargain compared to the Veyron's £600,000 (USD$1.1 million) asking price."

[SirClarke]

deevlash said:

A turd

Is that for real?

[GingerWizard]

i remember clarkson saying to May about how cars fizz and pop as they hit there top speed and feel like the panels are removing them selves such as the CCXR and the Enzo, but the big Bug did'nt do anything but a little weave as he touched the brakes.... i cannot imagine what the Keating felt like as it travelled accross the salt flats at 260mph..... probably not dissimilar from being in the middle of the Hadron collider! I am impressed but you can't polish a turd. Just roll it in glitter!

[deevlash]

EDLT said:

I know I said this about that turkish car the other day, but this really looks like the Barabus TKR (remember that?)

Its the same car, they couldnt call it the barabus as they didnt have the rights to the name so it was changed to keating. Its been a proper hack job from the start. Its the ubiquitous steel tube chassis, tuned yank engine, crappy fibre glass shell and then they claim its a "veyron beater", it isnt, its a tuned up kit car, except that would be doing a dis service to proper kit car companies.

[Fetchez la vache]

Amazing stats (congrats!) for a car built for people with more money than sense.

If they make a profit from it, hopefully they'll make a car for people with less money but more sense (& doesn't look like it was on sale for £9k at Exeter kit car show).

[odyssey2200]

Another supercar from a company that can't make one available to sell.

Pointless attention seeking press release in a desperate attempt to remind people they still exist.

I would be more impressed if they actually announced thatthe car had gone into production and had delivered some product, regardless of the outrageous claims.

[Stevie Mojo]

How can a car be so good looking from the front and yet so nasty from the rear?

[Garlick]

Fair play Ronan, boy bands don't last forever.

[briSk]

Maybe when they finally give up on it they'll re-name it the 'Karen'.

[ ouch! ]