Month: October 2012

There’s an element of the late twentieth century’s infamous ‘Space Race’ happening at the moment, albeit with less nuclear Armageddoney-ness. Because in the same month that Felix Baumgartner JUMPED FROM SPACE, we have a Ford GT that could very well have powered itself into orbit.

Well, a heavily modified, twin-turbo Ford GT, that is, owned and driven by a Mr Johnny Bohmer of Performance Power Racing. He took his 1,700bhp GT to the landing facility at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, shooed incoming space shuttles away from the huge strip and buried the throttle.

The result is a new, verified Guinness World Record for the fastest standing mile in a street car: on 16 October 2012, Mr Bohmer drove his ‘BADD GT’ to 283.232mph. That, ladies and gentlemen of the Interwebs, is pretty ruddy quick.

Says Mr Bohmer: “By NASA allowing us access to a one of a kind facility, we are given the opportunity to explore these technologies. We’re just scratching the surface of where these systems can be utilised outside the racing arena.”

That’s right – he’s a serious man on a mission to bring world record-breaking tech into vehicles of all types. Though we suspect it’ll be a while before we see a 300mph Ford Fiesta. Underneath sits the same 5.4-litre Ford V8 as a standard GT (with upgraded internal components), but the supercharger bits were ripped out and replaced with a twin-turbo system and upgraded factory intercooler. The fuel system was also redesigned to pump 25 per cent more fuel than standard, what with there being 1700 horses and all.

The engine cooling system has had a minor reroute, likewise the gearbox remains standard with just a few bits of strengthening to support that power. The chassis remains totally untouched. As Mr Bohmer told TopGear.com: “We drive this car on a regular basis in town and even drop the kids off to school in it.” School-run mums of Florida, beware.

He’s got form, has Johnny. Last year he set a then world record at a piffling 223.42mph in a Ford GT too. And it appears 283 isn’t even enough either. Posting on his website earlier today, Johnny said: “We will go much faster very soon”.

Performance Power Racing reset the record for the fastest standing mile (car) this week at 283.232 mph.

Johnny Bohmer, owner of Performance Power Racing (USA), broke the record at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, using a 2006 Ford GT to set the record.

The standing mile is an event in which a vehicle, from a dead stop, accelerates completely through the one mile mark.

The West Palm Beach based Research and Development Company worked directly with Pratt and Whitney on a new high specific strength, high temperature tolerant, Aluminum Alloy named Pandalloy™.

Parts were specifically designed and manufactured out of Pandalloy for the Ford GT used in the attempt.

“Our entire team has worked very hard to get here and we are proud to be able to put an American car in the record books as the fastest street car in the world.” Mr. Bohmer said about the achievement. “By NASA allowing us access to a one of a kind facility, we are given the opportunity to push the limits of these technologies and explore their benefits. An immense amount of research and development went in to this 3 year project and we are just scratching the surface of where these systems can be utilized outside of the racing arena.”

The run was measured by Tag Heuer timing equipment and verified by officials from the International Mile Racing Association, who recognized the run as a new IMRA world record.

Johnny’s crew included Matt Lundy (lead design tech), Jeff McEachran, Frank Richert, George Brown and Matt Lilly.

Sponsors of the car included Big Stuff, Eye Candy Performance Car Care, Magna Fuel, Moran Racing Engines, Snow Performance, NLR Power and Control, MPR Racing Engines, Pandalloy Extreme Performance Aluminum, Performance Power Materials, Precision Turbo & Engine, and Serious Autosport.