Monday, 24 October 2011

Going drag racing... In a Rolls Royce!?

We don't often feature drag racing on Overdrive... Maybe it's because with only a handful of venues in the UK it's not quite as popular here as in the USA. There is however a certain appeal from the simplicity of the sport - and the huge variety of machines involved from Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars to... Well, to this :
Santa Pod’s Flame and Thunder event on the 29th of October already has a superb mix of race and stunt cars to marvel at, but the latest addition to the line-up should appeal to a wide range of petrolheads – from classic buffs, to the landed gentry.
Matt Wright’s Crewe-build 1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow may still strongly resemble the gentleman’s express that left the line there decades ago, but thanks to the transplant of 588cu Chevrolet V8 (that’s almost TEN litres in old money!!!!) it’s somewhat faster. Fast enough to run an impressive 7.94 second quarter mile.. at 175mph!
The car has been prepared by WG Racing and uses a cutting-edge selection of the latest drag tricks and lightening methods to turn it into a veritable supercar slayer, taking well over two seconds off the time taken by the Bugatti Super Sport to cover the same distance. A bespoke Chrome-Moly twin tube chassis, suspension and braking system replace the hefty 4775lb weight of the original components and make for one hell of a rapid, rockin’ Roller. You really want to see this unlikely looking machine firing up the strip!
For more information on the Flame and Thunder event, please click to http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_flame.php
Now check out Top Gear's gallery of the making of this car, and some video taken earlier at Santa Pod...




A small tremor was reported near the tomb of Sir Arthur Rolls yesterday, reported to be the great car maker turning in his grave...

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