F12 @ 217 mph / 349 km

Ferrari F12 hits 350 km/h on Public Road ? Supposedly with Vettel Behind the Wheel
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I swear in the 90's, far lesser cars had claimed 200+ mph top speeds. Aside from Bugatti, I can't recall seeing one super car with a top speed manufacturer claim above 350 kph. Is there some EU law that penalizes car oems the higher top speed their cars go or something?

 

OMG, undertaking as well at that speed, anything could have happened.

 

Huh?

The cars in the 90's may have claimed 200 mph, but that's not the same as being able to do it.

Not sure I understand your train of thought at all. It takes so much more for a car to do over 350 than it does to do 320. Not only in terms of a lot of power, but also in terms of chassis and aerodynamics.

Besides that, a lot of modern cars are hindered by gear ratio one way or the other. The 458 runs out of rpm before it runs out of top speed. That's because Ferrari is more focused on mid range punch than all out speed. The GT cars are geared longer for better overall efficiency, and has too long of a final drive to reach theoretical top speed.

Lastly something interesting is now happening. Manufactures are no longer as concerned with top speed as they were back in the 1990's. So they basically publish a top speed number the car will certainly do, and then say, it will probably do more but we don't really care. In the 90's all of the manufactures had inflated numbers and a lot of the speedos read 8-10% over. This was especially true for Ferrari in the '90s and early '00s.

That being said, there are manufactures that claim over 350. Pagani claim 370 for the Huayra.

If you want to know if such a ridiculous law was in effect, all you have to do is look it up. And honestly if it were in effect, it would be pretty common knowledge.

The only place that currently has a limit on cars like that is Japan. And that's 170 kph.

 

Back in the late eighties, early nineties top speed was everything, so claimed might not have been reality. You need a lot of extra hp to reach 350 km/h instead of for instance 300. Most supercars have quite a bit of drag too compared with modern sedans.

Plus tyres are still a limiting factor, I believe Brabus limits their cars on 350km/h due to the tyres. Audi/ABT does the same with RS6.

 

If you're used to drive on the de-restricted parts of the autobahn here in Europe, you know how it's done. The rules are completely different from the US, and partly UK. Firstly the outer lane is only used for overtaking, you're not allowed to stay in it. If you're traveling at this speed, you can as you overtake everyone. If someone come up from behind, you're the one who has to yield and move to the left lane.
General rule of thumb when traveling on the de-restricted freeways is this. If you move to the left lane, only do so if nobody's there. If you're there traveling at say 160 kph and you see someone 300 meters behind flashing his lights at you, move away instantly, because he's probably doing between 230-250 kph, and he's expecting you to move.
Many accidents happen when foreigners come over and don't take their time to learn the "unwritten" rules. Our driving style here is a lot more "aggressive" and completely different to the US, and also UK imo. Here you will get fined for sitting in the left lane at 100 kph. When I say aggressive, I don't mean rude etc. one just have to focus on keeping up with the traffic. Here it would be dangerous to be hesitant and defensive.

 

I wrote that basically right after I opened my eyes this AM. Let me try and clear up the confusion. In the 90's it seemed like every company was shooting for the moon with their top speed claims (and yes, I am agreeing with you, they weren't achievable). Now, it seems like they are intentionally lowballing the mph (for example, I think LAF and P1 can do well over 220 mph). It's an odd departure, and it made me wonder if there was some legal reason. It also seems that 350 kph is the magic number a lot of times.

 

I'm guessing it stopped being as important for customers.

Unless you're the fastest of them all, a ridiculous top speed just isn't as relevant to "real world" driving as other figures. You can appreciate 700 horsepower on a quiet road, or test 0-60 (or even 0-120) on a freeway on-ramp. But even on a closed track, you're never going to get close to a 200-plus mph top speed.

 

I know some Ferrari and Bentley owners that have driven in a particular motorway that has very little traffic at speeds in excess of 300 Km/h for very long periods of time and I agree with you that the continental european driver's culture of only using the left lane for overtaking reduces considerably the chance of colliding with slower cars. However anyone that has driven in a motorway at this very high speeds and I have done it myself, knows very well that that the driver's sight should be focused in a area of the road at least half a mile ahead of the car in order to give sufficient time of reaction to avoid slower cars and any obstacle.
I sincerely think that the two biggest dangers one can face in a motorway at this extremely high speeds are the sudden appearance of an unexpected obstacle or the very rare but possible blowing of a tyre.

 

Not sure where you are from, but you better be able to brake ... flashing your lights is ok - not legal though - but it is your responsibility regardless. And this whole we drive a lot more aggressive is hogwash - those are exactly the people who cause the accidents because they think that only because it is unlimited "driving more aggressively" is acceptable - and defensive driving is not the reason for accidents

 

I completely agree. There are those rare instances when you can let the car stretch its legs. I think what sometimes happens, is that people think that every time we drive down through Germany, we're all going flat out. My point is simply that not only does the rule of keeping the left lane clear decrease the risk tremendously, in Germany people are quite used to see cars going 250 now a days. Of course 350 is faster, but the same basic rules apply.

 

Not sure you understand what I mean by aggressive in this case . may be a language barrier thing. I'm not talking about bullying your way through traffic or taking high risks on the behalf of others. I'm talking about being alert, swift and responsive. I don't know if you've ever driven in the US, but it's a completely different driving culture and way of driving. Not better or worse, just different. I've lived in London and I know how people drive there. They are not as offensive in their style as here in northern Europe, but I think they are more reckless and less concerned with their fellow motorists imo.

 

You can only fully understand appreciate the driving on the unnrestricted Autobahn if you have done it Yourself. Experiencing it is key here. I live 5 min from the Autobahn and have done many runs above 300km. I would never say ' there is a safe way to do so'. However there are situtiins where an empty straight is an empty straight!

I also have to underline that 'the Germans' do know how to handle average driving on the autobahn. There are very little slow left lane drivers. Average speed is already 160km with small Fiat's overtaking at 200km!

 

I know some people will hate me for saying this, but I don't want to be a hypocrit; so respect for testing the top speed of the F12! Not saying it was a sensible thing to do....!

 

Spot on.

 

As a loyal member of the Nur Links Brigade (NL) I must say high speed driving has been limited in Germany in the last decade or so, partly by the Green party (more speed limits, less derestricted Autobahns). Partly due to more traffic. The awareness in Germany has decreased as well. 160km/u really isn't the norm anymore.

In Southern Germany less so than in for instance the Ruhrgebied, but still.......

 

For a GT car, that's pretty amazing.

The top speed of the new Ford GT is also --- 217 mph, and its pretty hardcore.

 

Unfortunately in many places around the world, drivers have no respect in keeping the passing lane clear. In fact, many of those have self-deputized as earth's eco-police and are determined to stay in the passing lane to slow everyone down. This is particularly true for those driving a Prius or similar.

 

Love the fact that at 330kph... it shifts


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Come to Los Angeles we're self appointed car police in Prius's's's sit in the fast lane going slower than any other lane. On purpose.

Absolute morons.