Travis Pastrana has spent a lifetime chasing speed in forms most people only watch from a safe distance. Eleven X Games gold medals, a Daytona 500 start, jumping from planes, and more broken bones than birthdays have defined his career. Yet when he climbed into the McMurtry Speirling prototype at Dunsfold Aerodrome, the former Top Gear test track in England, he described it as living out a childhood dream. The car, he said, was simply the fastest vehicle on earth.
The Speirling is a single-seater electric sports automobile manufactured by a tiny UK company. Two Helix motors deliver a whopping 1,000 horsepower to the rear wheels via an electronic differential, which can give power to each rear wheel separately if necessary. What actually distinguishes this device is the pair of afterburner-style fans installed beneath the chassis. They generate an incredible 4,410 pounds of downforce even when the car is stationary, which is enough to effectively strap the car to the asphalt. As a result, the tires can use all of their power without spinning out of control, allowing you to corner and brake with substantial G-forces, ranging from 3G to 4G. This results in a reported 0-60 time of 1.55 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph. The identical prototype that Travis Pastrana tested had already established the Dunsfold lap record at 55.9 seconds, more than three seconds faster than the previous best. That honor was held by a 2004 Renault F1 car, no less.
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LEGO Technic Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Grey Hypercar, Sports Car Building Set for Boys and Girls, Vehicle Racing for Kids, Buildable Model Kit, Sport Car Toy, Motor Enthusiasts’ Gift, 42173
- A hypercar toy for kids ages 10 and up – This LEGO Technic Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut Grey Hypercar car building toy set for kids features authentic details to delight young vehicle fans
- Build the features of this sport car toy – Builders explore lots of engineering concepts as they assemble the articulated V8 engine and the differential before testing out the steering
- Realistic door design – The model features a dihedral synchro-helix door system, which allows the doors to rotate 90 degrees while moving outwards, just like those on the real car
Pastrana approached the car the way the McMurtry team prefers: gradually. Early runs kept power around 50 percent with the fans off or at low settings. Even then he came back smiling. “The car is a really cool go-kart,” he said, “and you turn the fans on…” The difference was immediate. With the fans engaged the Speirling felt planted over bumps and through corners in a way ordinary cars never manage. Stability replaced the usual sense of skating or sliding. Braking points that looked impossible suddenly became usable. He noted that he was leaving a lot on the table under braking at first because his brain refused to believe the car could slow and turn as hard as it did.
When the team turned the power and downforce up fully, the reactions grew more direct. “Downforce up, power up, good freaking time.” On one run he thought he was carrying too much speed into the famous Hammerhead corner and prepared for a slide or a wide exit. The car simply rotated and stuck. Later he ran a quarter-mile in under eight seconds and crossed the traps at 160 mph. By the end of the day he said he had gone faster than in any other vehicle he had ever driven.
