Going really really fast in shite

[Ben_L]

Speedo Indicated 118mph in a Maestro I was driving back from Luton to Saffron Walden once... Was a 5 speed SL 1.6 model which handled much like custard and I was on that horribly twisty road between Luton and Stevenage near the Uni. Scared the shit out of me and I never did it again... Mainly because it wasn't my car.

 

Had 101mph in Mum's CFi 1.4 Fiesta... Anything above 4,000rpm and it sounded like a new engine was required. This was on it's final trip to be weighed in and thank god it did... It had no oil or water in it and smelt like hell on a stick.

 

Current Kent Engined Fiesta mk4 has seen the other side of 100 on the clock, but I don't know how true this is. It does make a meal of it...

 

And then lastly, one of my Dad's friends had me up to 140mph on a dual carriageway in Colchester going past the Uni in a H-Plate 300TE24 Sportline. Scared me to death but the chap driving seemed in heaven!

[M'coli]

My first Cavalier had me bricking myself the first time I took it out. I don't intentionally speed in built-up areas and 30 zones, but even around town this was showing worrying signs on the speedo - 30 looked awfully slow and couldn't be pulled in 4th. Having worked out speed by using tyre size, gear ratio revs then working off of the tacho it transpired that it consistently read 12-15mph high...

 

Which lead to a mate shouting down the phone to his soon-to-be missus while on the A590 on the way to his stag-do at Coniston, "F*** me, we're doing a hundred and ten mile an hour"! to which I replied, "No, we're not, but we soon can be!"

Such is the arrogance of youth!

[John F]

Indicated 97 mph in a 1977 Escort 1.3L.

Indicated 110 mph in a 1988 Escort 1.3 Bonus (this dropped to an indicated 100 mph when it was later fitted with a recon engine).

Off the clock in a 2.25 petrol Series 3 Lightweight Land Rover, downhill, following wind, etc... probably about 80 mph, terrifying.

Indicated 145 mph on a Yamaha XJ900F.

Throttle to the stop on a Suzuki GS1100SZ Katana, speedo lost the plot at about 110 mph... estimated 140ish based on the accompanying GSX-R 750.

Indicated 138 mph (flat out) in a Cavalier Mk 3 SRi.

Indicated 135 mph in a Calibra V6 (not trying, loads left in it).

Indicated 105 mph in a Disco 300 TDi

Indicated 160 km/h in a 1.3 Twingo Mk 1

110 km/h as a passenger in a bobsleigh

 

... all on continental motorways or private roads / bobsleigh runs, of course

[Guest]

Indicated 200 in me Matra Murena!

 

 

 

(Kmh)

[Rocket88]

Fastest; 178 mph in a 911 in France

Most terrifying; Indicated 137 mph in a sit up and beg Ford Pop running a tuned Chevy big block............with Viva front discs!

[Craig the Princess]

Like Dolly the only time I've actually been +100 was in a Rover 414 (indicated 106). Before I bought the Rover 220 form a friend he took us home in it on the M25 once at 120.

 

Most scary was an indicated 102 from a 1275 Allegro on some private land (France) racing to catch a ferry, was about 94 in reality but steering would have been an issue if it had been required.

[chaseracer]

...down the Stokenchurch bank on the M40...

Popular venue in this thread, that particular stretch of private road...

[MikeKnight]

Going 70 in my Triumph GT6 Mk1 feels like you're going a bazillion miles per hour.

 

But you're not.

 

You're actually going 50, with weird looks from people who pass you as you're going AHHHHHHHHH and holding onto the wheel for dear life.

[RedSparrow]

Similar in a TR7, 70 feels like 170. Feels dangerous too, maybe a bit twitchy because of the short wheelbase.

Mine had a 5-speed box fitted, they are such low end torquey motors that I'm amazed they ever though a 4-speed was adequate.

[panhard65]

Taking the A40 twin cam I used to own off the clock was pretty scary but probably only about 110. Getting 120 out of a '58 Jensen 541 on a French motorway was another scary run back from Le Mans. The less scary ones were the 140 run for 10 miles up a french motorway in my maserati biturbo. Had to give up when it started to overheat. Those were the days when you could get away with speeding on the way down to Le Mans now the gendarmes hide round every corner ready to fleece us brits. Note to self don't take the fiat coupe this year !

[hhhugues]

Off the clock (so allegedly 160 + Km/h) in my sisters R5 GTL from '82 (think it was a 1.0 or thereabouts). Did it loads of times too, but I don't believe for one second that it was accurate, as the car was dreadfully slow through the gears. Maybe even slower than my R4. That said whatever speed this thing was capable of reaching with the help of a little wind / downhill was way more than what it should have done. And it wasn't even that scary. Loved that car.

[brickwall]

140mph in a Double-Six that belonged to me Dad back in the day.

 

115 in a Rover Montego Estate with a nice O series engine...anything over a ton and it was frighting.

 

about 65 in a Land-Rover Series III Diesel on a long downwards sloping hill in overdrive. Absolutely hilarious and very peculiar to stop (nearly didn't).

[oman5]

Had an indicated 150 mph from a mk3 granada Cosworth 24v, terrifying how effortless it was.

The only car I had off the clock (125+) was an '80s chevy caprice with a warmed-up 5.0 v8. again, terrifying because it left any handling behind at 25 mph.

[oldford]

Taken by Trigger on the day we went to Nottingham:

 

[trigger]

I forgot about that! I think I tried to block it all from my memory!

[fordperv]

Taken by Trigger on the day we went to Nottingham:

 

 

good choice of high speed test vehicle,

 

in my 2.0 glsi saph on an empty "private road" following a friend in a mongao st tdci we blew some cobwebs out of the motors, i was chasing he couldnt get away and the speedo was showing a nats cock from 140 at its highest point it really is a lovely cruiser

[oldford]

When I worked in car rental in the 80s and 90s we went quite fast in everything that would be considered shite today. An indicated 137 in a 2.9 Granada was the fastest I've ever driven. Had a trip from Norwich to Chelmsford one night and we came back in a couple of brand new, 8 miles on the clock Sierra GLSs, 120 at one point.

 

Did Ipswich to Cambridge and back, including swapping cars in 90 minutes, Maestro 1.6 Automatic going, Volvo 740 Estate automatic coming back which kicked down at 110.

 

The most memorable was 75 in a Nova 1.2, not fast, but plenty fast enough as it was in 2nd gear.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Indicated 160 in a manual 1976 XJ-S back in 1990 when the A34 between Oxford and the M40 became a dual carriageway - it had only been opened a day and was so smooth, empty and straight. Saw a plod in a striped up Senator going the other w..WHHHOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH................and he's gone.

[Guest]

It must have been you that knacked that manual XJS that my dad had for a while in the late 90s. It was well tired!

[simmo]

A couple of mates lived in Milton Keynes and we got the invite up for an evening. At closing time Kirk says no problem we will just got the bar at the airfield (Cranford or something like it) where he was parachuting and learning to fly, they do afters, no worries. We get there and the bars closed so a bit embarrased he has the idea to see how much he can get out of the V8 P6 down the runway. The end result was an unconfirmed 120mph, the rover going straight on at the end of the runway for a bit, then side ways through a hedge, side ways across a road (a proper road, not the peri track) sideways into a field and eventually to a stop. We managed to burble our way back to the road from the field reattach rear bumper, rear wing and exhaust and carried on our way.

[Guest]

Sounds better than one of my landings at Cranfield (or indeed anywhere else).

[simmo]

Terrifing at the time, I didn't know then that they try and keep it flat in case planes over run, I thought we'd hit a ditch and flip.

[mk1_4dr]

The fastest I've ever travlled in a car just happened to be in a super shite Mk3 Escort cabriolet, in pink.

It had a very highly strung 2.1ZVH, diesel van gearbox and Focus 18inch wheels (back when 18s were BIG) and as such we rattled and squeaked upto a GPS'd 155mph racing a Mk3 Astra GSI up the sliproad from Brighouse on the M62. He only got away as the Astra had a Calibra 6speeder in it.

 

The fastest I've actually driven is 130mph (GPS'd) in LOLvo, again, on the M62.

 

The Whale was all out of ideas at 105, which is bloody scary in such a massive bit of kit.

 

Golf easliy went off its 120mph clocks, I suspect I saw the thick end of 130 out of that too.

 

The K10 would do 90, and that was it.

 

escRot did/does somewhere between 95 and 105 (an indicated 110, but meh at the accuracy of 40y/o Ford clocks)

 

The E30 would do 120, but it felt like it would do it all day without breaking sweat.

 

I don't recall ever 'maxing' the Prelude.

[PhilA]

Fastest I've traveled in a car was a non-shite BMW M3.. 148 mph. Felt very planted although that sort of speed turns an M-numbered road into a winding country track.

 

Fastest I've put a vehicle with the wheel in front of me was in my 1988 Bluebird 1.6 LX. After having sat down with a calculator and some paper, the book power output of the engine was inadequate to take it past 105... it was reading 135 and was only just coming on to the second barrel of the carb. I bottled out despite it feeling happy to carry on at that speed all day. Checked the accuracy of the speedo against GPS, it was spot-on all the way to 90, so guessing that 135 was proabably about right o.o

Only thing I can guess is I had the timing a bit far advanced...

 

Scariest high-speed is a toss-up between "heck knows but the radio just fell out of the dash" (the needle is 5mph wide and wobbles about enthusiastically in approximately the right direction) in a series 2 Escort RS Turbo, and finding out that the book top speed of a 899cc Fiat Cinquecento is correct, 87mph in 5th... but if you put it back in 4th at 87 and cane it to 95, then stick it back in 5th, it carries on accelerating off the end of the speedo. That's trouser-clenching stuff right there.....

 

--Phil

[fotorabia]

I was hitching from Amsterdam to Munich in 1991...emerged from an overnight bush sleep in Koln..got picked up by the manager of the Leningrad Cowboys in a new Renault 25 V6 turbo black with black leather..we then cruised at 240-260kph to Stuttgart..he had one cowboy boot floored..the other on the dash..

and on the inaugural run with last years W123-230 back from Alice Springs where the straightness of the highway encourages silly speeds..i let my young gorgeous Maori friend drive...6am...and i kinda sleepily squint at the speedo..160kph..ah well i thought...it does the the Euro tonne ok..

[beko1987]

Had an indicated 135 out of the 206 on the A1 one night still doing 50mpgee, took the puma up to 115 on the A40 off the M40, and have had the ZX up to 85 on the M40, although the front lifts up so much the steering goes, so backed down. Meriva runs out of everything at 110.

 

Had a company pool car Accord 2.something diesel up to an indicated 148 on the M40 too, was the fastest I've ever driven!

[beko1987]

...down the Stokenchurch bank on the M40...

Popular venue in this thread, that particular stretch of private road...

 

because it is brilliant! When I met my now girlfriend she lived in Stokey, I lived in Marlow. She finished work at 11, I could leave at quarter to and arrive at hers at 10.58 as she pulled up! If it's icy I use it in the mornings and always get to work surprisingly early!

 

Used to do regular beaconsfield to oxford services when bored in my yoof in a mates saab 9000 in about 15 minutes!

[messerschmitt owner]

off the clock (80mph) in a Messerschmitt (downhill, with a tailwind at Preston), ditto on a Fiat 126 or two.

 

110 in a BX 17RD

124 in a smart roadster

115 in my current XM 2.1

 

 

modernish old cars just do it - no fuss, no problem!

[rml2345]

Once did an indicated 110 in the 850 I had during the brief period that it worked. A bit frightening actually as the rear tyres had ridiculous flat spots from standing.

Unfortunately I ran out of space on my private road M8...

The Rover 75 diesel of fail was still pulling at 115mph before I ran out of road there too!

Gutted that I never had a chance to take it on the larger private* road though.

[messerschmitt owner]

39mph backwards in third gear in my Messerschmitt too!

 

I don't recommend you try this at home - it's f******* scary!!!!