Larry Hoy wrote.....
Not powerful enough, hmm..........
This is just off the latest issue of 'Automotive Industries' magazine
(8/98). The following is quoted from that issue:
"In 1959, Phil Hill, who became America's first F1 world
champion, drove an MG streamliner across Bonneville to a class record
254.91 mph. This year MG will send a factory team to Bonneville in an
effort to break that 39-year-old mark. Rover engineers figure the car
will need 600 hp to crack 255 mph. They hope to produce 900 hp with a
twin-supercharged Rover V-8, the same Buick-based engine that powers the
Range Rover."
...........as it happens 1959 was just when I was starting to get facial
acne and a big interest in cars - and I rememeber the Hot Rod magazine
article on the MG factory racer "EX181" attempt at Bonneville. The engine
was a 4-cyl as used in the MGA "Twin Cam" of the time; I believe it was
1500 or 1600 cc, and highly supercharged. Don't remember if it was running
on gasoline,alcohol or something stronger, but the article quoted MG's
engineers as estimating the engine's output at 300BHP.
So howcum Rover now need 600 or 900 BHP to beat that record??? I would
speculate the answer lies in the size and streamlining of the car (more of
the former and less of the latter!)
Bob Wilson
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