Richard Jackson wrote:
> Can't say as I've heard of that, give us some details, I know at one
> point the 3.8 Mk2 Jag had the title!
Dave Fain wrote:
> the Mercedes Benz 450SE 6.9
> claimed to be "the world's fastest production sedan"
> in the 70's. 140mph top speed, 0-60 in 7.4 seconds.
Richard Jackson wrote:
> but in the 60's wasn't the Pontiac GTO real quick
Richard, Dave,
Sorry guys, these cars are not even in the same class
as the Ford GTHO (the Pontiac GTO was a 2-door, and still slower).
In the last 1960s/early 1970s, Ford/GM (Holden)/Chrysler
in Australia were locked in a battle to win the annual Bathurst
500 race, and endurance race of 500 miles on a public road
circuit, 3.7 miles long with an elevation change of over 1000 feet.
Homologation rules were enforced, and the cars had to be completely
stock (except for the roll cage). This was a time when many cars
were driven to the track, and if they survived, were driven home.
Ford developed a GT car, based on the 4-door Falcon (looking
a little like the American Falcon of the mid-60s), and it reached
its peak of development in 1971 with the Cleveland 351 ci V8
powered GTHO, Phase 3. This car was readily available to the Australian
public, and right out of the showroom, was capable of over
150mph, and a 1/4 mile in 14.0 sec. The only factory option
was a 36 gallon fuel tank, instead of the stock 18 gallon.
There is a memorable picture in the leading Australian
magazine "Wheels" of the car tester driving the car on a narrow
2-lane road and the speedo is reading 150mph....
Nearly 2000 of these care were produced. However, the Govt.
stepped in to halt the production of these cars fearing that they
were too fast. There were similar "stock-race-cars", albeit
6-cylinders, from Holden, a 202 ci triple-Stromberg fed and a 265 ci
triple-Weber fed hemi from Chrysler. The reason for the 6s rather
than a V8 was for fuel and brake economy in "The Great Race").
The Chrysler 6 had the distinction of being the fastest 6 in the
world (it would smoke Porsches and BMWs) and was for a short time
used by Aston Martin for the DB6.
The decendents of these cars provided the adrenaline in the
Mad Max films.
The same Ford V8 powers my Pantera. There is a connection
here...
Shane Ingate in San Diego
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