Modified Mercedes E63 AMG driven across the country in 27+ hours, averaging 103mph with a max speed of 193mph. All on public roads. That must have been spicy at times. The last record stood for 6+ years. For how long will this one stand? A more interesting question might be: if you attempted to do this in a Disco 1 or 2, pedal mashed the entire way, how long would it take? Would the Rover even complete the journey or would the engine break down?
Cannonball Run record broken
- Thread starter Tugela
- Start date
Yes, read that as well. Being around for the first one I’m always entertained by this. Records are made to be broken and for sure it gets more and more difficult.
Love the Cannonball movie where the Ferrari driver rips off the rear view mirror.
Love the Cannonball movie where the Ferrari driver rips off the rear view mirror.
I agree. I am confident that my D1 could make the journey no problem - at or below the speed limit. What I'm curious about is what would happen if you pushed an older Rover to its performance limits for a sustained period.
The DII was still only a few years old when I made that run, but I certainly did give it hell along the way. That's the drive on which I hit the 120mph limiter.
That's my only valid experience, though. The other long-distance stuff was over varied terrain, and none of the frequent issues apply.
Cheers,
Kennith
Only a guess yet probably would not fair well. The Benz engine is designed for the Autobahn or as I call it - the public German speedway. The older Rover V8 more suited for low - mid range torque/rpms. Couple that with pushing a brick through the air.
Just imho though.
I always felt most uneasy with the RV8 when pushing it on the highway. Doesn’t help it’s only a 4 speed and the revs will get up there at speed
That depends on what you mean by "older". Simply by year, the earlier engines seem to hold up better. By age, though... You've just got an old engine either way.
The rest of the drive-line can take the speed, but you can't just ignore it. It's not as well-balanced as stuff on vehicles intended for those speeds, and that will take a toll over time if you make a habit of that sort of driving over the years.
When it's all in good repair, though, you can run the things like you stole them. They like it, actually. They need to be run ragged every now and again. We get so fixated on head gaskets and liners and other double and triple-decade issues that it's easy to forget that this is an engine routinely used for rally and other competition endeavors.
Cheers,
Kennith
Yes, yet, not sure about running hard for that many hours basically non stop.
Lets face it, the Rover V8 isn’t a MB, Audi, or other marque engine that is made to run at high rpm for extended periods of time. And last.
It's not really a question of whether or not it would hold up. It did hold up, for the entire trip with only a few short naps and fuel/bathroom breaks and an oil change. That's the same DII I have today, with the same engine.
I didn't have any trouble at all. Well, the vehicle didn't have any trouble.
I personally wouldn't want to try that again. A DII isn't particularly stable past 100mph, and it did wear me out more than I expected. It'll cruise at high speeds, but the difference between even 90 and 100 is obscene over a long distance. A longer wheelbase would be choice for that drive.
Kicking the RV8 around doesn't kill it. Time and chemistry handle that.
Cheers,
Kennith