We have selected 5 records that just cannot be broken by anyone. Speed records, longest range on one tank, most kilometers driven and oldest vehicle in operation.
The motoring world has always called for breaking records, whether it was speed, consumption, reliability or innovation. Some of the records from our selection have not changed holders for only 3 years, while some, on the contrary, last for over 200 years.
However, given the area and scale, they can all be considered extremely solid, long-lasting, and difficult to overcome. The last record has been held for 253 years!
Fastest production car: Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ went 490 km/h (2/8/2019)
The first record is “only” 3 years old, yet remarkably consistent for its area. Since becoming the crown jewel of the Volkswagen Group, the Bugatti has become synonymous with straight-line performance and speed. The development of the Veyron and Chiron resulted in the creation of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which broke the seemingly impenetrable barrier of 300 miles per hour. Moreover, in comfort and silence, as is customary with Bugatti.
To achieve this feat, the 8.0-liter Bugatti W16 engine was tuned to produce 1,578 horsepower, 99 horsepower more than the standard Chiron. It also received additional engine and transmission cooling and a number of software changes. Aerodynamic modifications were also important for its fast ride, especially the “Longtail” rear section, which added 25 cm of bodywork.
The upgraded Chiron Super Sport 300+ reached a speed of 490.484 km/h at the Ehra-Lessien test circuit in Germany. At the Bugatti plant in Molsheim, 30 cars were produced for privileged customers, each for approximately 82 million crowns. The fact that he has held the record for over three years is admirable, because the previous few years the record holders changed more often.
The answer to Bugatti was supposed to be the SSC Tuatara and Hennessey Venom F5 cars, which theoretically will break the record speed on paper. Koenigsegg joined in with the Jesko Absolut model, which has a theoretical maximum speed of over 532 km/h. However, the Bugatti has still not been officially overtaken, allegedly also due to problems finding the ideal circuit or road for this purpose. Manufacturers Koenigsegg and Bugatti have also made it known that the pursuit of the speed record will no longer be a priority in the future.
Longest drive on one tank: Volkswagen Passat TDI traveled 2,617 km (5/5/2013)
The US spec Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI drove an unbelievable 2,617 kilometers (1,626.1 miles) on one tank! By 160.1 km, it surpassed the older European record from 2010, which was held by the Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI BlueMotion.
In 2 days, John and Helen Taylor traveled through nine states. They started in Houston, Texas and ended up in Sterling, Virginia. The pair were already very experienced in similar drives at the time of the record, having collected more than 90 economy driving awards around the world.
The entire drive took place during the day in normal traffic, not at night. The car was completely standard – engine 2.0 TDI 140 horsepower with a six-speed manual transmission. And there was 120 kilograms of luggage in the trunk. The Taylors took turns driving and did not drive more than 14 hours a day.
The average consumption at the end of the test was 2.8 liters per 100 kilometers. However, this is still nothing against the motorcycle record, when the Honda Monkey recently traveled 4,183 kilometers on a single tank!
Fastest land speed: Thrust SSC went 1,228 km/h (15/10/1997)
The Thrust SSC, also known as the Thrust SuperSonic Car, is a British jet car developed by a team consisting of Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss. It still holds the world land speed record, driven by Andy Green. It also became the first vehicle on land to officially break the sound barrier.
Before the record measurement itself in October 1997, extensive test drives took place in the Al-Jafr desert in Jordan. The record attempt with a result of 1,227.985 km/h was made in the Nevada desert. Now the Thrust SSC has its place in the Coventry Transport Museum in England.
The car itself is 16.5 meters long and 3.7 meters wide, and weighs almost 10 tons. They drove him two Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines, known from the British version of the F-4 Phantom II fighter. This pair of engines developed a thrust of 223 kN.
At a record speed of 341 meters per second, the consumption reached the value of approximately 18 liters of aviation fuel per second. Converted to normal vehicle consumption, at maximum speed the Thrust SSC engines achieved a consumption of around 4,850 l/100 km.
Thrust SSC has a permanent place in history not only as the record holder, but also as an inspiration to other teams competing to break it, such as the Bloodhound LSR project, launched in 2008, and the North American Eagle Project, launched in 2004. However, both of these projects they have yet to overcome funding and technology difficulties, so the record remains unbroken.
Highest mileage: Volvo 1800S traveled over 5.2 million kilometers (2018)
Record holder Irving Gordon died in 2018. However, he and his Volvo have held the Guinness World Record for the number of kilometers traveled by a passenger car for more than a decade. He drove his red 1966 Volvo 1800S for over 3,260,257 miles, or 5,246,875 kilometers! Irv thus completed a trip equivalent to six round trips to the moon.
Irving logged more than 100,000 miles a year visiting enthusiast events, with the longest stretch of the frequent trip being from New York to Vancouver, Canada. However, with Volvo he saw the whole world, including Africa. He stated that he changed the oil every 5 to 6 thousand kilometers and filled the manual transmission every 40,000 kilometers.
Volvo has still the original engine, which underwent a general overhaul after the first million kilometers. Its original clutch lasted an incredible 724,205 kilometers! Is the 1966 Volvo nearly indestructible, or was Irving just that gentle with his car? The truth is probably a combination of both.
Oldest vehicle still in operation: Steam car “fardier á vapeur” (1769)
In 1769, the first self-propelled road vehicle was created, powered by a steam engine, which still exists today and occasionally goes out. It is called “fardier á vapeur”, a steam car that was created by the French inventor and army captain Nicolas Joseph Cugnot. It was created a full 117 years before Karl Benz’s first patented and mass-produced car.
Cugnot was also one of the first to successfully use a device for converting the reciprocating motion of a steam piston into a rotary motion. The steam wagon was intended to replace the horse-drawn two-wheeled wagon for transporting very heavy equipment such as cannons.
A steam engine powered the front wheel and the car was capable of carrying up to 4 tons of cargo. The fire was burning directly on the ground under the cauldron. The steam produced was then enough for a 10 to 12 minute drive. The car reached a speed of 3 to 5 km/h.
In 1771, the car was damaged in the first car accident – it went through a wall. It was later placed in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris, where it remains today. The record for the oldest vehicle capable of operation will probably remain with him.
2023-08-26 06:00:00
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