The Competition
This group of high-stakes gamblers is as diverse as any we've ever assembled. The players range from the $284,850 Lamborghini Murcielago to a car costing less than one-ninth as much, the $30,062 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Horsepower, though just one measure of performance, spans from the Mitsu's 271 to the Lambo's 571. While each qualifies as a wild child, they challenge the performance spectrum from unique angles.
It wouldn't be a proper performance test without a Corvette or Viper. Accordingly, the latest 405-horsepower Z06 and 500-horse SRT-10 were called to duty. Ford's 385-horsepower 2000-only SVT Cobra R was one of the most popular players at our last high-speed outing, so we included a new 390-horsepower '03 SVT Cobra. You can't even whisper high performance without uttering the name "Ferrari" in the same breath, and the latest Maranello--updated for '03 and now called the 575M--drew an electrohydraulically actuated semi-automatic invite. Jaguar's ever-elegant XK coupe has received a power injection, a new transmission, and several other upgrades this year, and the company sent us a top-of-the-line supercharged XKR.
Then it got even more interesting. Mercedes-Benz is pummeling the market with new AMG-fortified offerings, several of which approach 500 horsepower. We've already devoted a feature story to the sleek SL55 AMG (September 2002), so we elected to sample the hyper-luxurious CL55 AMG. Not to be confused with the smaller CLK, the CL is Mercedes' full-size coupe, and it's now available with the same 493-horsepower supercharged V-8 found in the SL55. "But wait," you ask, "don't German automakers electronically limit their autobahn burners to 155 mph?" Yes, but since this was to be a closed-course event, and, as those clever German engineers knew their CL was good for way more than a buck-fifty, they agreed to unshackle our test car--strictly in the name of research and in pursuit of the high-speed truth, you understand.
Warren Mosler has been imagining and building strange machinery for decades. Some are one-off what-ifs, like his twin-engine Cadillac (April 2000). Still more have been built in small quantities for discriminating purchasers. Remember the Consulier GTP? Powered by a Dodge 2.2-liter turbo-four, the GTP was an ugly duckling of a mid-engine sports car, but, lordy, it handled. Mr. Mosler recently developed a true race car in street clothing, the MT900 Photon. If Chevy handbuilt a limited-run mid-engine lightweight Corvette, it might resemble the MT900.
Everyone knows that Ford's SVT Lightning pickup will outaccelerate most '60s musclecars. It is, and has been for some time, the fastest truck on the market. Yet, even the folks in Dearborn have derived only its theoretical top-speed figure. "Would you guys take one along and run it?" they asked. Sure. Why not?
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