When Too Much Is Just Enough
If you’re even mildly interested in automobiles (you’re reading this, aren’t you?), you know that the current top-speed champ is the Bugatti Veyron 16/4. Depending on how you measure it, the Bugatti has over 1,000 hp propelling the car to what is commonly referred to as “ludicrous speed”, which equates to over 400 km/h.
Apparently, building blindingly fast cars churning out in excess of 1,000 hp is the thing to do nowadays. Not content to let the Germans have all the fun, Bristol Cars, from the UK, and Shelby Super Cars (strangely, not associated in any way with Carroll Shelby) of the USA are both producing cars with over a grand in output.
Bristol brings us the Fighter T (pictured above) powered by a DaimlerChrysler sourced V-10 which is force-fed by two turbos and makes a whopping 1012 hp. The swoopy coupe is more an extremely fast GT than a true sports car, and while Bristol claims speeds in excess of 435 km/h are attainable, they have limited the Fighter T to a mere 362 km/h accordingly.
For something a bit more racy, you might try the SSC Ultimate Aero TT (pictured above). Not to be confused with the company’s Aero, which manages a measly 787 hp, the Ultimate Aero TT goes all-in with 1180 hp, and a projected top speed of 440 km/h, which is precisely the speed at which 50% of all grown men will wet themselves. If you happen to be in Wolfsburg, Germany this May, you might be able to see the Ultimate Aero TT in action as it tries to wrestle the top-speed crown from the Veyron.
For more info, go to www.bristolcars.co.uk, or to www.sscautos.com