Saturday, February 13, 2010
The moment a child begins to understand and communicate with his corresponding environment, the question that is at the pinnacle of his curiosity, at least for me it was, which is the fastest car in the world. I use to go running around my place looking for dad to answer my question and it was a repetitious act, every time I saw something related to it on the TV. The curiosity was so high that I lost sense, though I lacked it ever since, to the level of a soaker high on plonk, making me ultimately plonk.
Buggati Veyron was an answer, which kept me mum for years but then as I grew up, I never realized that this question would come back and hit me so hard, that dexterity would become alien to me. Which is the fastest car in the world? I could shout in the busiest of places but I knew it would first prove me lunatic and then second even if people understand my problem from the ‘roots’ and co-operate, the argument to follow would again tee off me.
To make sure my frenzy is bound to its closest precincts, I set about to find an answer. Little did I realize that my deep- rooted, far-fetched question would see me go bizarre to the level where I leave this question open to the whole wide world? So here it is again, which is the fastest car in the world?
The only way I thought it was relevant to find an answer was to ask all of you. So here I am with a list of few which people around the web mention are the fastest in the world under different criteria’s. It isn’t a compilation whereby I have made my own list but I have picked up specs from different places which did nothing but added to my confusion. Thus, I have you people to help me to choose from the ones mentioned below or to decide if at all my answer lies here.
Buggati Veyron 
Lets begin with the Veyron for whoever I asked, be it a non-passionate answerer or an over passionate one, Veyron was at the top of their list. The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is claimed to be the fastest, most powerful and most expensive street-legal full production car in the world which comes with a mammoth 1001 horsepower. The Veyron features a W16 engine with 16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders. Each cylinder has 4 valves, for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed.
Veyron weighs almost two tons, which makes it the heaviest car on the fastest car list, still not preventing it from giving 0-100-0 mph a time of less than 10 seconds with a top speed of 253 mph. A super-fast shifting seven-speed DSG gearbox and mega price tag completes this ultimate high-speed package.
Bugatti Veyron Picture Gallery
Ultima GTR
Almost a year ago, a small British car company unveiled its version of ultimate race car for the road drive based on Chevrolet V8 engine which offers 730 hp. The Ultima entered the Guinness Book of World Records thrashing the Veyron’s time by five hundreds of a second.
The Ultima GTR is a supercar manufactured by Ultima Sports Ltd., England, available both in kit form and as a ‘turnkey’ vehicle. The design is mid-engined, rear wheel drive layout, with a tubular steel space frame chassis and GRP bodywork. Lately, Ultima has focused their marketing endeavors on record breaking activities using a model equipped with a 640 bhp American Speed engine, which is called the Ultima GTR640, and subsequently, a 720 bhp engine which is called the GTR720.
The power to weight ratio for the GTR720 is more than 650 bhp (480 kW) per ton, which is a better one than the Bugatti Veyron and Enzo Ferrari. It scorches from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, from 0 to 100 in 5.3 seconds, and brakes to 0 in 3.6 seconds.
Definitely, Ultima is the weapon of choice for the car fanatic that not only wants to own the fastest car on the planet but also wants to experience the intimate knowledge of the car of his desire.
Ultima GTR Picture Gallery
1994 Dauer 962 LeMans
The Dauer 962 is a supercar based on the dominant Porsche 962 racing car. It was introduced to the public in September of 1993 at the Frankfurt Motor Show with a price tag of $853,000. The very next year it was entered in the grueling 24 hours of LeMans race with factory support from Porsche where it succeeded in capturing the overall victory though it was later banned from participation in 1995.
The vehicle is powered by a Porsche water-cooled 3-liter engine, mounted mid-longitudinally and powering the rear wheels. Two intercooler KKK turbochargers with three alternative levels of boost are available. The 2994cc engine produces 730 horsepower at 7400 rpm. The transmission exploits the 962’s gearbox and clutch but is controlled through Tiptonic buttons on the steering wheel.
At the Volkswagen’s Ehra-Leissen test track, the Dauer 962 was able to race from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds and achieve a top-speed of 252 mph.
1994 Dauer 962 LeMans Picture Gallery
Brabus TKR
The Italian build Brabus TKR is a 1005 horsepower supercar capable of doing 0 to 60 mph in 1.67 seconds. The car reportedly has a top speed of 270 mph which is nearly 20 more than the Veyron. The engine is powered by a 6.0 liter V8 twin-turbocharged with dual intercoolers. The car has a full carbon fiber body and chassis.
Developing since last 10 years, the car was on the display at the 2006 British International Motor Show and was appreciated heavily. The TKR is to be made in Italy and the power plant will be built in the United Kingdom.
Brabus TKR Picture Gallery
I went through all the lists or call them compilations over the net and found that these four were the most common ones to feature as the toppers, which clearly means that I would have got my answer somewhere between these four names. Yet, as they say destiny drives us all, the problem was that these four featured as toppers but on each occasion the criteria was different which meant my destiny was nothing other than leaving this question open to you people again.