The fastest car in Europe, a 252 MPH Pontiac Trans Am

One would imagine that the fastest car in Europe would be some form of super car, an exotic such as a Lambo or Ferrari. But one would be wrong, as the car that lays claim to that title is actually a 1987 Trans Am.



Not your average Trans Am, of course. This one is complete with 1400 horsepower, and the goods to back up all that power. The 8.9 litre V8 has officially been clocked at a startling 407 kph, or 252 miles per hour.



Needless to say, there isn't much that is stock about this car. Built by Polly Motorsport of Norway, there's a wealth of expertise under the normal looking skin. And the best part is that the car is allegedly street legal!



Check out the video here.



Subject: Fastest street legal official road car in Europe!



A 1987 Trans Am fastest official street legal road car in Europe!



Paul brought his Pontiac to the Papenburg car testing track, one of the newest and most advanced test tracks in the world. Mercedes where testing their new AMG sports models the same day as Pal was going for his personal speed record. Some engineers from AMG team criticized the optimistic Norwegian team for bringing an 80's trimmed American car to this super test track for the advanced European supercars. But what they didn't quite comprehend is that Pal Arvil Blytt and his Polly motorsport team from Norway works at a motor tuner garage in Godvik Norway and most important of all nothing more than the shell of this car resembles the stock Pontiac. With a brisk 8.9L V8 producing a whopping 1407 HP, Pal was soon doing AMG top speeds of 300km/h in his warming laps. After driving a couple of rounds around the track, Paul felt ready to see what his road machine would do! And after pressing the pedal to the metal the ARP technician Christoph Tharrey came over with his laptop computer with a big grin. Here we have the official numbers: 407.134 km/h



You may say well the 9FF team drove 409km/h in an extremely rebuilt Porsche 911 at the same track; this speed was recorded with their own equipment and therefore can be fixed and therefore is not recorded as an official speed record. Bugatti Veyron 407km/h is also recorded with their own equipment.



As the Papenburg track is to small for the Pontiac to reach its potential top speed of 435km/h and Volkswagen's test track costs 25.000 Euro an hour to rent. Paul is bringing his road legal car to the US in 2009 to challenge Shelby supercars official record of 412km/h.

Focus RS coming to America?

Image by jonanamary via Flickr With Ford making moves to bring several of it's European models stateside, there is new found hope that we'll see the new Focus RS on domestic soil. Despite all of the hoopla over ever rising gas prices, there is still an overwhelming majority of Americans that don't want to compromise performance.



There's no denying the appeal of high performance coupled with reasonable fuel economy. Most enthusiasts want a little extra spice in their daily commute. Americans are power hungry by nature. Europeans have the same desire for performance that we do, except their gas is much more expensive than ours and their cities provide narrow roads and an underwhelming amount of parking spaces.



Enter the Focus RS, which debuted at the London Motor Show. Sporting a screaming 2.5L Duratec turbo four under the hood, the rally esque ride has drawn a tremendous response in the UK, with 1000 already ordered.



Ford of Europe has reported that it has been inundated with orders, with almost 40% of buyers wanting the car in Electric Green, the color of the show car.



Representing a return of the famed Rallye Sport badge last seen in 2002, the RS puts out 295 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque and includes extras such as a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential and a front suspension system called a "RevoKnuckle" designed to reduce torque steer. Despite lacking the all-wheel drive setup some competitors boast, the Focus RS manages an estimated 0 to 62 mph time of under 6 sec.



One can only imagine what a blast this car would be on a winding road, but naturally Ford is being cautious with the idea of bringing it stateside. But when Ford of Britain's chairman and managing director Roelant de Waard says the company is "delighted by the reaction of performance car enthusiasts to the new Focus RS and that so many want to place orders even though it will not be available until early next year," hopefully the staff in Michigan will take notice and let American drivers in on the fun, too.

702 Horsepower Audi RS6 R Station Wagon

Station wagons typically get a bad wrap. A popular option for hauling families back in the 70's, they were replaced with minivans in the 80's and SUV's in the 90's. The first image that pops into most people's heads when they think of a station wagon is a wood panel hippie-mobile.

Ok, so the Dodge Magnum changed that perspective a little bit. However, it will soon join it's brethren in the boneyard when it is discontinued next year.

Wagons are still the rage in Europe, however. With ten dollar a gallon gas most folks can't afford to drive a large vehicle. And for those with a little more money to burn? Enter the Audi RS6.

Devoid of giant spoilers and junky body cladding. The RS6 in normal clothing is an autobahn burner in it's own right. Sporting a twin turbo V-10 spouting out 580hp and 480lb-ft of torque, it's quite capable from the factory.

However, if you want to have the distinct pleasure of gobbling up supercars with a few passengers in tow, MGM has just the package for you. Engineers on the RS6 R project first looked to tweak V-10's computer element. After a remapping of the stock ECU system, MTM's initial step towards creating the ultimate grocery-getter produced 656 horsepower and a staggering 578 lb-ft of torque. A little too much perhaps for grandma to handle.

MTM wasn't satisfied yet, however, with an output that exceeds the Lamborghini LP640. They proceeded by adding a free-flowing stainless steel exhaust, ECU reflash and a reworked air intake system to the package. The end result is a ridiculous 702 horsepower capable of propelling the car to 100 km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds. MTM can set up the car to easily hit 192 mph.

Keeping the power in check up front are available 15.9-inch six-piston grooved brakes sitting behind 21-inch forged Bimoto wheels. Exterior additions are conservative. They include a carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser and a more aggressive stance thanks to adjustable coilovers not only lowers the car, but also increases traction significantly.

The MTM RS6 R package with engine, suspension, and body mods can be had for a cool $24,000 on top of the purchase price of a donor RS6. The looks on that Ferrari owner's face when you blow his doors off in a station wagon : priceless.