These cars are the oil guzzling terrors, but in turn they give out insane performances. These are wildest of the wild and reflects on our desire for speed. And that, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Introducing, the ten maddest racing cars ever.

Lancia ECV Group S

“Developed as a replacement for the mighty Delta S4 to compete in the 1987 World Rally Championship, the ECV would have been the wildest rally car ever. Check the specs below. But work started before Henri Toivonen and his co-pilot Sergio Cresto were killed in an S4 in the 1986 Tour de Corse just before the crash. Group B was just too fast, Group S will be faster. Too dangerous, too fast, Axed.”
Engine capacity >> 1759cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 2.0s
Top speed(mph) >> 170
Power(bhp) >> 600+
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 650+

Alfa 164 V10 ProCar

“Video of Ricardo Patrese at Monza getting to 200mph. 600bhp V10 F1 engine lurking behind the driver. The ProCar series was an idea that died before it came to fruition, but that doesn’t stop this Alfa being one of the maddest cars ever. DOwnforce and grip were severely limited while power was surely not.”
Engine capacity >> 3500cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 3.0s
Top speed(mph) >> 211
Power(bhp) >> 600+
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 800+

US Army Top Fuel Dragster


“Nothing in motorsport is quite as dramatic as a top fuel dragster. This rail is the fastest in the world. It runs a standing quarter mile in 4.428sec. with a record terminal speed of 337.58mph. Difficult to describe what that’s like to watch other than to say that the speed fools your brain completely, it gets to 100mph in 0.8s. pure 8000bhp. Listen to this dragster, insane engine.“
Engine capacity >> 8200cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 0.5s
Top speed(mph) >> 330
Power(bhp) >> 8000
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 8000

Suzuki Pikes Peak Escudo

“It has a 987bhp twin turbo V6 and a lightweight chassis. Mad power, mad downforce and mad grip combine for sheer bloody excellent hardcore loon.”
Engine capacity >> 1998cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 1.5s
Top speed(mph) >> n/a
Power(bhp) >> 987
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 1233

Donohue Porsche 917 Can Am car

“Dubbed the Turbo Panzer. Few ,em were brave enough to drive it’s less predecessors, let alone this thing, but Mark Donohue was up for it. Donohue topped 211mph in a final outing at Talladega.”
Engine capacity >> 5374cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 2.5s
Top speed(mph) >> 221
Power(bhp) >> 1100
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 1295

1982 Brabham-BMW BT50 F1 car

“They didn’t mess around in F1 qualifying in the turbo era turning up the boost to stupid levels. That meant scarcely believable outputs from tiny engines and this was one of the wildest. This four-cylinder 1500cc motor had a near standard block from a BMW road car and was said to have developed up to 1500bhp in qualifying trim.”
Engine capacity >> 1500cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 2.5s
Top speed(mph) >> 200
Power(bhp) >> 1500
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 3000

BRM V16 F1 car

“Superb engine sound. Difficult to imagine what a peaky 1500cc supercharged that pumped out between 550 and 600bhp at 12000rpm should sound like. Pity, this incredible V16 engine wasn’t reliable enough to be truly successful.”
Engine capacity >> 1487cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 3.7s
Top speed(mph) >> 170
Power(bhp) >> 550
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 750

Peugeot WM Le Mans Car 1988

“This car went to Le Mans with the sole purposes of breaking the top speed record. Top speed was 251mph and the engine exploded soon after in 1989.”
Engine capacity >> 2849cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> n/a
Top speed(mph) >> 251
Power(bhp) >> 600+
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 800+

Mercedes CLK GTR Le Mans Car


“this GTR was a fast Le Mans car, but that is not why it’s mad. Look at the video and judge for yourself.”
Engine capacity >> 5900cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> n/a
Top speed(mph) >> 208
Power(bhp) >> 600
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 600

1994 Penske-Mercedes Indycar

“This Indycar was the wildest among all all it exploited a loophole in the rules and created a super-powerful engine. This thing made 1000bhp and hit top speeds of 250mph, just 3 inches away from the wall.”
Engine capacity >> 3430cc
0-60mph(100km/h) >> 2.0s
Top speed(mph) >> 250
Power(bhp) >> 1000
Power to weight ratio(bhp/tonne) >> 1400

[All from TopGear Singapore Magazine.]

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