The power needed to overcome aerodynamic drag increases with the cube of velocity.
That is to say, the amount of power required of a car to sustain a certain speed, thwarting the air’s best efforts to impede its movement, is exponentially greater at a higher speed than at some lower speed. This is why the 200-mph barrier is one so rarely broken by production vehicles, and why 300 mph is unattainable to all but the most expertly-modified cars.
We mention this is because The Drive recently shared a video clip taken onboard a first-generation Ford GT supercar, as it smashed the standing-mile world record by rocketing from 0 to 293.6 miles-per-hour in just 5,280 feet. The hugeness of that accomplishment, achieved at the 2017 Texas Mile yesterday, can hardly be overstated.
Granted, this Ford GT is not at all factory stock; the wizards at M2K Motorsports put in an Accufab-prepped 5.4L V8 and a twin-turbo setup, with a MoTec ECU and wiring/tuning from NCS Designs. The result is an output peak in the neighborhood of 2,500 horsepower or more. Likely more.
Be sure to watch the M2K Motorsports Ford GT near the 300-mph mark in the standing mile above, and for a (brief) high-speed drive by, check out the clip at the top of this page.
No Comments yet