355 2021 Cannonball Run in a Murcielago

Last week I fulfilled an ambition I had from the moment I bought my Murcielago. The goal was to complete a Cannonball Run which (for those that don’t know) is a drive from the Red Ball Garage in New York City to the Portofino Inn at the Redondo Beach Pier in California. In a true Cannonball Run you are racing for the fastest time and in my case it was to be a pleasure drive so (out of respect for the record holders and challengers) I prefer to call it the ‘Cannonball Fun’.

Something always got in the way cancelling the trip but last Tuesday I made the drive from Toronto to New York (already a good trip approaching 1000km) to start the official journey. It was my first time in New York and the Murci is not exactly the right car for the city. As such we got out quick and started making our way to Indianapolis to visit the Speedway.

The central part of the US was a bit of a flat blur with the real excitement coming with a visit to Pikes Peak to climb the famous road to the clouds. By this stage the car was getting good and dirty with plenty of brake dust and dead bugs on the nose. After the peak it was through the ski towns of Colorado into Utah and eventually Nevada. These are great roads for high speed runs with very clear sight lines and long straight pieces of asphalt. Two radar detectors and Waze kept us safe with no tickets along the way. That said most driving was done at the speed of traffic which gave us a good feel for the highway fuel economy of the car.

The last stretch took us through Las Vegas where we drove the strip and then into California straight to Redondo Beach and the Portofino. It was a beautiful day and we arrived about an hour before sunset. It was an awesome adventure made better by my wife who was a first rate co-pilot. To make things better she is 4 and half months pregnant expecting our first child making this a journey of 3!

Here are some photos of the trip together with a breakdown of the fuel consumption and costs along the way. Total trip from Toronto was 5 days. The car ran perfect the whole way and did not consume any oil. A/C blew nice and cold and despite a few sections with rain, the car did not get a mark on it (although it needed a good wash afterwards).

The real lesson here is GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!! Forget about the mileage and enjoy one of the greatest normally aspirated 12 cylinder engines ever made.


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