The new crop of high-power electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S Plaid and the Rimac Nevera have brought the quarter-mile times of production cars down to new depths. But there’s still time to be shaved if we just consider street-legal cars.
Whereas the Tesla Model S Plaid has been measured on a number of occasions completing the quarter-mile sprint in just nine seconds (which, it must be said, is a very impressive time), this 1984 Hurst Oldsmobile is a member of the five-second club.
Bought new by Rod Tschiggfrie, this ’80s muscle car has since had everything replaced except for the taillights and the VIN number. Thanks to the apparently lax laws in Iowa, this car can not only accelerate from 0-260 mph (418.4 km/h) in just six seconds, it can also go do the grocery run.
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Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 640 cubic inch (10.2-liter) V8 engine that revs up to north of 9,000 RPM. The custom-made engine is good for “around” 5,000 hp when it’s running on methane but the ECU is clever enough to find a tune for whatever fuel (or vaguely flammable liquid) you can find in order to make it a little more practical.
Practicality is a relative term in this case, though, because out of respect for those colossal power figures, it has a full roll cage, racing seats, and a removable gas tank in the trunk all of which makes it a less than ideal vehicle for dropping the kids off at school. Judging by the earplugs everyone in this shoot is wearing and the sheer ferocity of the car, it seems like it might upset your neighbors if you started it early in the morning.
It’s all a little ridiculous but it’s a pretty compelling attempt to answer the question “How fast can a street-legal car conceivably be?”