MB-BOB

Since the action is so slow lately and what there is seems to dwell on the bi-monthly "Ricey-Boy this, Ricey-Boy that" debate theme, I though I'd start a poll a bit on the lighter side.

What's the fastest car you've ever ridden in? There are two rules (hey, I started this so go with me here):

1) It's a regular road-going car (no race cars, street rails, autoXers, etc.)
2) You've actually sat in the car in the real world while moving (not at an auto show, car showroom or lot, or test drive, etc.) Not necessary that you've driven it or were present for any world speed records attempts. Just parked your cookies on one of the seats while the ride was moving.

Humorous anecdotes welcome, of course. I'll offer mine later.

Notorious

The fastest I have driven was my 1967 Mustang ,I know this isn't all that great but it would do 130mph on the Interstate. It was a pretty tight ride to have in highshool. I have been for a ride in a new Corvett really fast, but I wasn't driving and we never got over the speed limit.

vinmanc32

Were a 99 Porsche 911 Carrera and a 1986 308 GTB Ferrari. I think that was the year but I am sure that was the model. That sucker was unreal. I will tell you that this C32 has resemblence of the 911. I know that sounds hard to believe, but it really does. The Ferrari, on the other hand, is beyond belief. Its also just the feeling you get sitting in that low seat. Mind boggling. The Porsche was also (dont laugh) an automatic with Tiptronic. But it was still very very quick.

Flashman

I'm 1991 (I was 25 years old) while in a trip to Germany, I had to travel from Dusseldolf to Flensburg (northernmost city in Germany). A total distance of around 600 kilometers.

Well, when in Dusseldorf I called a local car rental agency. I asked for the lowest cost car. It was something I never heard before, I figured one of those micro cars you see everywhere. I asked for the next thing up. Again something I never heard about. I asked for the next thing up. A Golf. (I'm thinking at this point, "three cars to get to a Golf?!?"). I ask for the next one up. A Mercedes-Benz 190 E.

Oh really? Check the price... not bad. OK!

Next morning I went down to pick up car. It was a brand new 1991 190 E 2.6 (larger engine) manual. Black, with black vinyl interior. (Did they come any other way back then?). I sat in it and realized it only had 50 kilometers on the odometer... it was BRAND NEW.

I was told the 600 kilometer drive to Flensburg takes about 6 hours on the autobahn. I made it in 4.5 hours. I had a average cruising speed of 125-130 MPH. The autobahn (back then) from Dusseldoft to Flensburg was DEAD the entire way up and back down.

I still thank my lucky stars. I remember thinking (while going 130 mpg) "if I die now, my life has been complete". I also remember how a Porsche with the top down passed me as if I was standing still... I figured he was doing 160-175 MPH.

It is also when I fell in love with MB.

Rick

MyRa on FiYa

MINE! hee hee....i dont think it fits BOBs criteria....too many mods....hmmmm

The fastest stock car ive rode in is i guess ...simply a CAMARO......ummm dont have that many friends with fast stocked cars....or have enough money to by a 12 second car....

Iceman's C230

The fastest car i ever driven was my 96 Supercharged Mustang GT with over 400HP!!! Fastest i got it up to was 165mph racing a Camaro LS1 SS. It would have gone faster but the traffic was coming up really fast in front of me. But with slicks in the back this thing really rip the 1/4 mile track. And on the street I drove very civilized.

STKLAW

1964 Dodge Polara. 413 ci bored to 426 with roller cam. Balanced and blueprinted. 273 rear end gear. 8k on the tach. No idea how fast (probably 160 or so) stopped when the chrome started fying off the car.

And this is what my buddie in high school drove!

C230K

I know you all problably won't believe me, but took my old Volvo 850 t5 turbo on I95, up to 145 mph. Wanted to see how fast it would go as advertised. The new cars today are controlled for there top speed, but then again, here in the States, guess we really do not need it.

Mike T.

...or about 127 MPH in my daily driver 1989 Peugeot 405 DL, 110 HP 5 speed. There was a "hill assist" involved, as the car'll only pull 195 indicated on a flat road. The drag coefficient is 0,32, good for a mid-1980s design.

I will say that the indicated 115 MPH in my former 1967 404 Coupé Injection was more fun, though, especially ditching the W. Vancouver cop on the Upper Levels Highway after I blew by his stationary radar trap at that speed. I was younger and a little more edgy then (20 years back).

Too bad the C 240 and 320 have speed limiters over here. They're no faster than my hill-assisted 405!! A 240 in Germany will do 146 MPH. But then again they don't have weenie HR doofus "all-season" tires on them either.

The need for speed in the USA is far greater than in Europe. It's a BIG country.

Rick

Fastest cars I ever drove: Former boss's Lamborghini Miura, DeTomaso Mangusta and Pantera, Porsche 911 3.0

Fastest I ever drove on the street: Germany...89....Autobahn...rented BMW 328...playing with some very REAL supercars...rounded a bend near Stuttgart...and they were gone. I glanced at the speedo a few times and we were floating around 220kph...but the beemer couldn't keep up for long.

Then there was the Nova...my first car...and my race car...12.38 @126mph...luckily, that was at the track. I got more tickets with that car....I miss it...almost!

MarkL

1972 American Motors AMG (?) (wasn't that the name, MB-BOB?), 360 V-8. This was a 2-seat version of the Javelin and was souped up w/ the bigger engine. The guy up the street's dad was a TV announcer, and the kid got a lot of toys. It was an auto, light yellow w/ black vinyl (that was a common color combo for that car). One night 3 of us packed in and he took off. I was 18 or so, and it was fast. Don't remember the top speed, but the push back was forceful.

Anyway, Johnny blew about 4 transmissions in the thing, if I remember right. He loved to hold the brakes and spin the rear wheels as fast as he could. You know how you are when you're 16-18!

MB-BOB

MarkL, um, I'm sure you meant to say '72 AMX, right? Yes, indeed, that was no poser ride. Now that you mention it, the styling of that car STRONGLY reminds me of... the C-Coupe, doesn't it? (Sounds in the background of the Jedi Nation fumbling to find a picture.)

I'm noticing most of you are listing cars you've driven. That's OK, of course, but feel free to list cars you've ridden in, too. You folks are also focused on top speed. Acceleration is also a measure of fast, too, right?

Keep it up, it's all good...

benzomonterey

Porsche 928 S4 was the fastest, but the most fun I had was in 1983 I was working for a Mercedes Benz dealer in Salem, MA and the owners son and I had to put the cars away at night. The gate was only wide enough for 1 car at a time. We took turns in the winter driving 240d's and 300d's after much time to get them started in the cold (glow plugs) then racing towards the gate seeing who could get in first without hitting the showroom.

todd

I would have to say my C230K.

Though I have been in faster cars, (a Viper the fastest, I think) those cars were never pushed to their limit.

But.... if I can drop two wheels, the fastest was my 1998 Honda CBR900RR.

I had taken that to 160 - 165 many a time with ease. Though the wind got kinda rough.

MB-BOB

OK, here's mine. In 1967 or 68, I was offered a ride by a friend and his dad in the neighborhood. The dad has just finished installing a rebuilt and blue-printed Packard engine in a '56 Studebaker Golden Hawk they were restoring. Very rare car (even then), in part due to it's off-beat, frumpy styling.

For a 1950's era ride, the Hawk was very light, and the Packard V8 option gave it plenty of ooomph. Twin 8" X 150' black streaks on the pavement, pinned me to the seat, even while chirping into top gear. No idea about HP or top speed, but off the line, it ran like a "Stripe- Assed Ape" (some 60's lingo for you post Jedi brothers). I remember that experience to this very day.

Alas, the grill on the Hawk was attached to the hood, like my C320 today. 'Cept it was all metal (heavy). One day, friend and dad were out having fun, and the hood latch failed, and the hood took-off, doing some major Poo-Doo to the windshield and roof. The dad actually cried, can't say I blamed him. Anyway, that's the last I saw of that ride.

Fastest car I drove: My '85 300ZX 2+2. Car had more guts than I did, frankly. Ran out of real estate and courage at 128mph.

Sorry Todd, crotch rockets are not "CARS you've riddin IN." Otherwise, I'm sure we would have heard from Buellwinkle by now! Peace!

todd

Lots of Love Bob

Actually, I think since my post Buellwinkle has been trying to reply but getting timeouts.

I've gotten allot of emails saying he (and others) have replied to this thread but upon checking it, nothing new was posted.

geistmeister

Fastest ridden in: 1980s Porsche Targa (I don't know the model--were they 911's?). Bosses car. Regan era. I recall being astonished that the car entered the freeway at top speed. It didn't seem to take ANY time to accelerate to match or beat the fastest traffic. I'm trying to remember back 17 years, but I swear that car felt like it did 0 - 60 in one second.

Fastest driven/owned: 1987 Dodge Daytona Turbo. Never attempted above 115mph. I shouldn't say this, but the MBZ C-coupe reminds me quite a bit of that car--solid, heavy hatchback with a charged 4-cylinder. /duck

dasMafia

1998 Viper GTS... (Indy 500 pace dar year, i think '98...) (only up to about 90)

1996 Corvette LT4... went about 110 (really stomped it to get there)

Those were both rides from my In-Laws neighbor and a friend.

personal top speed: 135 1968 Mustang... built 302, 5-speed 3.70 Trac-Lok... myriad other mods (dual 4-bbl...)

Personal Record in my own car...126 ('92 integra 5-speed)

fastest car I've driven: '97 M3 with the 321hp EVO motor from the european model... HOLY ****!... aran out of road after about 10 seconds... was staring 95 in the face at that point.

JimP

I ever drove: 1991 Ford Taurus SHO. I hit 135 mph (still accelerating, but I chickened) on a newly constructed, just opened stretch of toll road in Houston TX. Incredibly stable, even at that speed. That 3.0 liter Yamaha engine was one of the best ever "stock" street motors!

I ever rode in: 1982(?) Porsche 911 twin-turbo. Incredible acceleration -- something like 2 seconds to 60! Owner swears he has seen >200mph on a wide-open, nearly empty Nevada highway. The suspension was so stiff, however, that it beat the heck out of you at normal street speeds (and over "normal" freeway expansion joints).

Scary-fastest ride? 1968 Austin-Healy Sprite, which had the original 998cc (?) engine replaced with one from a 1972 MGB (1.6L) that had all the smog stuff pulled off and retuned with 4 individual carbs. With the top down, it would easily pull 100mph, but the slightest gust of wind or pebble on the road would move you over two lanes! Absolutely no downforce at all, and next-to-no weight. Fun at lower speeds, though!

(Checking out the other fora, as the SLK discussions on this site are pretty dead - the SLK crowd seems to hang out at MBnz.org instead.)

Mike T.

The MGB engine is 1.8 litre displacement, and the cylinder head only has two intake ports.

Thus it's hard to see how 4 throttle bodies would be of any help ... unless it had one of those aftermarket crossflow aluminum cylinder heads.

The ticket for a hotrod Spridget that handles is a Mazda Wankel engine.

My buddy's ex-1961 Bugeye Sprite with a 1275 Cooper-ised A-Series lump was quick enough, and ate gearboxes and axle shafts like most cars eat fuel.

mbtech208

Fastest I've ever been in a car was 155 mph in a '96 SL600 on Interstate 39 just south of Rockford, Illinois. Fastest I've ever driven a car was a '91 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo. Had that one up to 140 mph on a deserted rural two-lane blacktop in Ottawa, Illinois.

JimP

Ok... It's been a long time, and after checking, I was wrong on both the "old" and "new" displacements for my Sprite... The old engine was probably 1088cc, and the "new" one was 1.8L as you said.

You could be right on the carburetion as well. My failing memory prevents me from saying with 100% assurance whether the 4-carb setup was on the old engine or the new one. What makes me think you could very well be right is that the car has been modified for SCCA racing (full roll cage and 5-point seat belts -- yep, one between the legs!) and may have been modified to a 4-carb setup on the old engine by the previous owner when he did the other SCCA mods. I honestly cannot remember whether it still had 4 carbs after the conversion or not... In any case, it was a HUGE jump in power for such a light car.

Though I won't claim perfect memory (26+ years ago, after all), I do still have distinct memories of borrowing the 4-line vaccum guage from the local MG dealer for a day (with a $10 deposit - gulp - for a $200+ tool? can you say "trusting") and spending almost 6 hours trying to balance the four carbs myself before giving up and "limping" it to the local British Leyland dealer's master mechanic who balanced the carbs in < 30 minutes. That was my first (but definitely not last) lesson in "paying the expert for their expertise"... After this first experience, I changed my own oil but took it to the B/L dealer for tuneups, etc.

TimmyC230boy

For my 19th Birthday back in October my parents let my do the Richard Petty driving expirience. OH MY GOD, to kool. I did my driving here at Lowes Motor Speedway in NC. My average speed was 154.945 MPH, so the instuctors figured we were doing around 170-173 MPH. It doesnt really seem like you are going that fast though, until you go by the 400 yards long pit row in about 3 seconds.
But the fastest on the road I have ever been was racing a Mustang Cobra R. I had a 1999 Camaro with stage 2 heads and a blower. Had 498 RWHP. We raced from 50-150. I beat him of course. Then for good measure i went up to 160 before backing off. Yes a camaro will do that, since i had a 2.43 rear end. Oh yeah NOS helps too. lol

Brian Yee

Fastest cars I've driven;

1970 pro stock 510 C.I. Chevelle, 700+ H.P. Easy 11 flat 1/4's

1971 "A" engine Ferrari Daytona, Original Lemans spec. V12. aka to those who know, "Red Head" engine, 402 H.P. @ 8300 RPM. IMHO, NOTHING on four wheels sounded better or ever will.

1979 512 carbureted Ferrari Boxer... Not bad in the motor sound department either....

1979 Porsche 930 prepped by Andial Racing. This thing was scary fast and extremely difficult to drive.... K-29, variable boost, 934 cams, etc.

The "funnest" car I've driven had to be my 1976 BMW 2002. A total sleeper... Dual 45 DCOE's and all the engine work imaginable. A (real)close ratio five speed from Alpina in Germany(1:1 5th gear) completed the package. This thing would absolutely SMOKE
Ferrari 308's, 911 sc's and most other "hot" cars of the day.
A fifty cent throttle spring failure contributed to it's untimely demise....Damn fun while it lasted.

madryan

90 FORD FESTIVA WITH CHROME 12 INCH FACTORY RIMS ... 176 mph
HAHA.. J/K

personally.. in past cars i owned...
89 gti 16v... pushed to about 115
97 accord v6 (2.7 auto).... around 120... didn't have for long
99 accord coupe (2.3 4 cyl./ 5 spd).. hit 125 a couple of times

fastest i pushed my 02 c230k (6 spd.) 100...

didn't even know til i looked down...
this was today.... on the bqe (for those who don't know... the brooklyn-queens exp.)... some dude in a galant tried to pass me...
haha... new york is funny like that

the car was smooth and solid... i didn't even get near redline in any gear... i don't remember but i think i was in 5th at 100, shifted to 6, and just coasted down to 60... then took off in 4th to cut traffic and lose him

i know i'm not supposed to push it yet...i only have about 630 miles on it... but i jus had to...

everyone tries to test you regardless of what they or you drive...
it's not like the 230 is a supercar... but i love it

ryan