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John Hennessey, high-performance impresario and creator of many entertaining ViperClub comment threads, has done it again.
In what he claims is a first-ever trip to 200mph by a tuned C7, JH “tests” the Ez-Tag system by blowing past it at more than double the already-enthusiastic 80mph toll-road speed limit. Interestingly enough, the factory speedometer in the LCD display appears to be dead-on accurate.
“The road is smooth as silk, easy-breezy,” Hennessey indicates, in a phrase that will no doubt launch at least a dozen imitators.
47 Comments on “200 MPH On A Texas Toll Road, In A C7 Corvette...”
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Awesome.
Any idea what the button in his left hand was?
Self destruct switch in case any super-villains stand too close to the car…
NAAAAAAWWWWWWSSSSSSSSSSS….
(Sorry, I had to.)
Afterburner.
Turbo boost?
“Gimme all you got, KITT!”
Ejector seat? Drag chute?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t well thought out. In order to hold it he could no more than rest his left hand on the wheel rim. I don’t care how stable the car was at max speed — very stable, as it turned out — having both hands on the wheel is a better idea. (Any yes, I do know that John Hennessy is a skilled and experienced racer.)
Nitrous
Anyone who looks at a Viper and thinks it needs twin turbos is an awesome guy in my book.
I’ve not done 200 mph, myself, but there is a toll road near Austin, with an 85 mph speed limit. I think it’s for 40 miles or so. I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw it. I didn’t know about it until I drove it.
Oddly, to me, many people obeyed the 85 mph limit. The sign was saying something else to me – “If the legal limit is 85, they must want you to drive really fast.”
According to this, the company that built that 85 mph highway is on the verge of bankruptcy because of not enough traffic. Apparently an 85 mph speed limit can’t make up for a road that’s too far east to be useful to most drivers:
http://www.npr.org/2013/12/17/248757580/even-an-85-mph-highway-cant-fix-austins-traffic-tangle
I’ve been on it once…
The only thing that will help that highway is time. It is, indeed, too far east to be useful to most. Until the population get’s more dense out east (with both residential and commercial population) and until the unbearable highway 35 traffic gets to be really, really unbearable, traffic will be light.
Doesn’t bode well for Perry’s plan to make all of Texas a toll road. OK I’m exagerating, but still when I’m on hwy8 I see a lot of folks on freebie roads. I don’t see many taking the Katy toll road either.
Let’s be real. Traffic goes at 85mph anyway in Texas interstates (barring traffic). There’s no point to heading to this particular highway just for that “thrill”.
85? You must drive different interstates in Texas than I do. I drive Austin-Houston, Austin-San Antonio, Austin-Dallas. Between the trucks and the left lane huggers (don’t get me started), it’s tough even stay at 75 or 80 very often.
Not to say I would go to highway 130 just for that…
All toll roads are great in my book. Especially around Austin. Speed limit of 85 you’re looking at 95 for sure.
@daviel:
Try the one from Nuevo Laredo to Monterey (Mexico). Almost no traffic other than a few well to folks and few corporate service vehicles. Well worth the $17 (or so, equivalent).
Houston to Dallas on I-45 is usually 80-85, as is Houston to San Antonio on I-10.
Houston to Austin via I-10 & 71 is the way to go.
I find most people in the hammer lane don’t tend to drive faster than 80 mph or there abouts.
For a lot of people hitting 100 mph in a car, any car might as well be like going flat out in dry lake car.
Good to know the vette’s speedometer is accurate up to 200 mph :)
That thing sounds quite nice.
Did you notice there was zero wheel shake or vibration?
Love how “slow” 140-150 seems when he slows down.
Very cool. Would love to to be in the pass. seat.
I just do not believe that’s a Corvair.
Pure automotive Viagra.
Doesn’t the C7 come with a 7-speed transmission? Even a tuned one still reaches top speed in 5th?
I’m reasonably certain the top two gears are overdrives.
5th gear is probably an overdrive as well, seeing as it returns about 30 mph for each 1,000 RPM of engine speed. I doubt this car has only 450 hp, so the chances are that a stock one would benefit even more than this one from better ratio selection. 4th and 5th are probably as tall as they are because of the shift regimen dictated by EPA fuel economy testing.
regrettably the top three gears are overdrive.
( http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/transmission/1307_first_look_tr6070_transmission/photo_02.html )
Hennessey’s Corvette probably just has the power to make it seem like 5th gear is useable for acceleration.
In lesser Corvettes from 5th up they just probably creep.
With the wide power band of the LT1, the C7 doesn’t need those 7 gears close together.
The Vette has used 5th as the “top speed” gear for a long time; since the T56, at least. 5th and 6th were both overdrives, but 1st through 5th were your main accelerating gears. Seems to still be the same here, but now 6th and 7th are very tall overdrive gears.
One advantage is builders can now run stupid-short rear gears and still have a deep highway gear in 7th. Hello 4.56’s
On certain highways in Utah, the traffic was so sparse that I had no compunction about doing a steady 90. I don’t remember what the speed limit was–probably 75.
People often do a steady 80 on the NJtpk, where I believe the speed limit is 65.
Fastest I’ve ever gone in a car was 165 mph. I would sell my entire community into slavery for a chance to drive a Veyron Super Sport at top speed, but where could I even go to do that???
Any 20 mile long runways in the world?
200 mph on a public road? Absolutely stupid. Some people have no brains and are ignorant. Super cars are dumb, dumb, dumb!
@GoFaster – Are you trying to be funny or did you just not watch the video, which shows it was a closed course?
Have a nice boring life.
The road was closed for the test. I was impressed how smooth Grand Parkway is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Highway_99 Hope the construction company that built it wins more bids. Also impressed that Hennessey and various government agencies were willing to cooperate in testing the road, the C7 Corvette, the toll tag system, and police radar at 200 mph. The word “extreme” is not a pejorative in Texas.
Ok. Nice, awesome,whatever… But, where is the HANS device?
Pretty nice, fast and smooth. Pretty impressed that the speedo and the GPS match up almost perfectly.
As if Hennessey didn’t already use Houston-area tolls for top-speed runs. There’s a healthy 750-1000hp club that runs around out there.
Marshmallow article. Yawn.
1970s. 5 cylinder diesel goes faster.
Jack, 12-step program needed
Come to Louisville KY
Visit local custom guitar builders
Get Inspired
Help me build my 5 cylinder diesel into a 200 MPH machine
Then strap in and write
I need no encouragement to come to Lousiville. One of the happiest nights of my life was spent in the Louisa May Alcott room at the DuPont Mansion.
Finally… We agree. Took two lifetimes…
WHEEEEEE ! .
I’m askeert to go that fast in an Automobile .
I’ll talk smack to the gangbangers in my ‘hood when they do stupid shit but that’s too fast for me .
Fun to watch , amazing how smooth the car was at those speeds , sounds really nice too ! .
-Nate
The car is nice. Really nice. The video was boring. Utterly boring.
Must have been a lot of fun! That is cool to see the birds scramble.
Faster horses
Younger women
Older whiskey, and
More money
Stop dreaming my dreams.