Red Victor 3: the fastest road-legal car in the world

A few years ago I wrote about this car on a previous blog I used to contribute to, whose name I’d rather not recall, as Miguel de Cervantes would say, and I was answered with epithets -not worth reproducing here- for claiming that this car was the fastest in the world and that, with the right preparation, it was even much faster than a Bugatti Veyron (the comparison had little to do with it beyond the “fast” part).

Well, it turns out I was right. The 1972 Vauxhall Victor has evolved, and whereas six years ago it took 7.8 seconds to cover 400 metres from a standing start, it now does it in 6.6 seconds, with a terminal speed of 352 km/h.

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To make things clear, this is essentially an American Funnycar, but one that can also drive on the streets. To that end it carries its registration plate, indicator lights, windscreen wipers and everything else needed to be road legal. In fact, in the video at the end you can see Andy Frost, its owner, decide to drive “the car” to the nearest shopping centre as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

The heart of the Read Victor 3 is a monstrous 8.8-litre V8 that can run on 100-octane petrol, as well as M1 methanol, the fuel used on the tracks of the British quarter-mile championship, where it is an active participant. With the two turbochargers it runs, 3,000 horsepower has been measured on the dyno.

Another curious detail is that this car began life as a second-hand car intended for road use, 30 years ago, when Andy Frost bought it. The modifications were carried out over that period, and the car still runs on the streets as well as on the drag strips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iI9ptwMxunI