| THE
300-KMPH-CLUB:
Lamborghini Diablo vs
Pagani Zonda vs Ferrari 456 vs Porsche 911 Turbo vs
Ferrari 550.
 What's
it like, driving along with 300kmph on the clock? If you hear the noise
created by a car at this speed from the outside it is just like listening
to a jumbo jet taking off. Most of the sound comes from the road contact
of the tyres. On top of this the air displacement creates a terrifying
row. And if you are on the inside it is still a phenomenal experience.
That's why we thought we'd take you along for the ride… just once…
to see what it really feels like. So, close your eyes, and imagine you
are in one of the five fastest cars on earth.
 At
250 kilometres per hour the scenery whips by at an amazing rate. The whistling
of the air becomes disconcerting. In spite of the fact that the comfort
in the cockpit somewhat masks the reality, you are actually covering 70
metres every second, which is an awful lot of ground, and not to be taken
lightly.
At 270 kilometres per hour you need to concentrate twice as much as you
were doing at 250kmph. Everything gets noisier. Airflow noise drowns out
the engine roar. The steering lightens up considerably.
Push on to 290 kilometres per hour, and every adjustment you make has
to be planned in advance. Continuous vibration is all around you and any
weakness in the build integrity of the doors shows up in a deafening roar.
 Speed
up to the target of 300 kilometres per hour, and you are doing a kilometre
every twelve seconds. All hell seems to be let loose around you but the
level of concentration needed is so intense that you somehow shut it out.
The noise from the tyres overrides the wind noise, except for some very
high pitched whistling. The scenery flashes by at an unbelievable speed
and the horizon seems frighteningly near. You are going so fast that the
remotest error of judgement could be fatal. Never forget that. Never.
 That
is why driving at 300kmph is something you never do on the spur of the
moment. In any event, you need a very good and safe set of conditions:
An absolutely straight track with a good consistent surface, total absence
of cross winds and so on. In fact tracks such as what we dream about are
few and far between where you could hit this sort of speed in a road car.
Certainly, racing cars are used to it, but then their acceleration and
braking performance are light years away from your showroom model, even
if it is a McLaren F1 or a Ferrari F550.
On the other hand the quality and performance of the five cars which we
took on as they are available to the public is none the less spectacular,
as is their build and engine quality. So let's just take a look at them
individually.
The McLaren F1 generation:
Don't worry, we won't bore you with masses of history, or get into over-nostalgia
mode about the past. There are just three names that need remembering
for speed worshippers to trot out over dinner.
Firstly the
Ferrari 288 GTO. This is the sublime little sports saloon that was the first
road car to break the 300kmph speed barrier, 305 kilometres per hour, to
be precise. In 1984. That was a remarkable performance then, and it is still
remarkable, even by today's standards. We never had the chance to verify
it ourselves, but then Ferrari are not renowned for overstating the performance
figures of their production. So you may rest assured that the 288 takes
the palm for being the pioneer of today's supercars.
Then, much later, two great motoring names joined the ranks of ultra fast
speed machines. Bugatti, and McLaren. We ourselves clocked the Bugatti EB
110 S in 1993 at… 351 kilometres per hour, if you please. In the same
era, the McLaren F1 was said to achieve 370 kilometres per hour, though
sadly we never had the opportunity to check it ourselves. So, in brief,
there's no magic about it. Just three names to remember. Ferrari at number
one, followed by the Bugatti and the McLaren coming in later.
|
January 2002