Mark Megahan
If you need a fix of 200 mile per hour speed, there are brokers who can hook you up. For a fee. No matter where you live, there are clubs and schools to help accelerate you to maximum velocity without breaking any laws. Not only that, you get to drive something like a Ferrari SF90 Spider or Lamborghini Revuelto.
Need for speed
There’s a reason why 200 mph is a speed benchmark for automotive performance. All the way back in 1927, Major Henry Segrave drove a 1,000 hp Sunbeam past that point to set a record. It’s been broken many times since then.
Even so, that particular mark “remains a magnet.” Just about anyone can hit 170 on a track, “but the leap from that to 200 mph is enormous.” For two good reasons.
First, “the amount of air that the car has to push out of the way” is huge, requiring massive amounts of power. Second, not everyone has “the presence of mind to keep your foot in and to know that you’re doing it in a safe environment.”
There are a whole bunch of high-end production models capable of reaching that speed. Even so, “opportunities to actually reach it responsibly — and lawfully — are extremely limited.”
While in Europe, it’s possible and legal to drive faster than 200 on the Autobahn, driving at that speed isn’t safe for other drivers sharing the road. The experts use closed public roads, race tracks and runways. Craig Williams is managing director of Auto Vivendi in Britain.
The club hosts what they like to call a 200 mph Challenge. At least once a year they let “members and non-members alike” drive the club’s cars on a private military runway. Participants end up “paying more than $6,400 and are required to use a supercar from the club’s own collection.”
Expert trainers
Williams was sure to note that they don’t let just anyone climb behind the wheel of their supercars. “The instructor will explain how it all works, where they need to brake, and show them where it can go wrong.”
Their next extreme speed event is April 30. Starting with “sighting runs” in Ferrari and Lamborghini SUVs, drivers progress to “taking examples of the McLaren 750S Spider and the Lamborghini Huracán Tecnica up to 180 mph while receiving further guidance on high-speed braking.”
As a graduation present, “drivers would move into a Ferrari SF90 Spider or a Lamborghini Revuelto.” Here in America, the annual Sun Valley Tour de Force runs July 17 through 19 in Ketchum, Idaho.
Those seeking an extreme speed thrill need to bring their own car. A Bugatti Chiron once clocked “253.01 mph on a previous edition’s 3.2-mile stretch.”
After a non-fatal crash last year, they tightened the event restrictions with “a new in-town format.” The idea is to “add more control over course surface, course safety, and driver experience.”
Their “speed run also fast-tracks funding to local charities, as participants—who paid $3,450 for one run last year—are also expected to donate substantially to the philanthropic component.” Drag racing schools like Frank Hawley’s in Florida “provides a progressive selection of single and multiday courses ranging from about $500 to more than $7,000.“
