Prius takes speed record

[I]Ohh WHY am I feeding Karrmann ??? :)[/I]

Anyway, there IS a landspeed record for hybrid cars and Toyota Prius owns it at 130mph ....

[IMG]http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/images/october/i_bonneville.jpg[/IMG]

For generations the trek to Bonneville has been an American ritual performed by small, dedicated teams of speed enthusiasts. Backyard mechanics rub elbows with professional drivers and corporate crews. They share the quest to push their machines to be as fast as possible.

Bonneville Speed Week has strict rules and procedures for teams to follow. The teams take their work very seriously. Records set at Bonneville are recognized worldwide.

The idea to take Prius to Bonneville began with a "what if" conversation between Car and Driver writer Aaron Robinson and Toyota National Manager Bill Reinert. The notion of a hybrid speed record was so intriguing that it quickly turned into a fast-track build project at the Toyota Motorsports workshop in Torrance, California. The result was the Prius Greensport, a 2004 Prius with the stock Hybrid Synergy Drive® system, plus a couple of modifications: bigger wheels and tires, and a change in gearing.

The gear modifications make takeoff from the starting line a bit challenging, but at Bonneville, that is no problem. Rules allow vehicles to get a push start because top speed is the main concern. On the so-called Short Track, cars have one mile to get up to full speed before measurements are taken. Two miles remain to reach top speed, and plenty of salt follows to slow down and stop safely.

Prius Greensport claimed the first Bonneville hybrid production car speed record at 130.794 miles per hour with Aaron Robinson behind the wheel. Shigeyuki Hori, Toyota's Executive Chief Engineer for Prius, and Fumiaki Kobayashi, a Toyota Vice President, also had fast runs on the salt. Kobayashi says, "I think it is important that Prius has set the first hybrid-car speed record. We demonstrated that hybrids could exhibit high performance. It is important for us to challenge ourselves and the auto world to see what hybrids can do. Prius Greensport will inspire us to imagine new possibilities, and might challenge others to try Bonneville themselves."

From toyota web site. More pics at [url]http://www.sportivoconcepts.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=34[/url]

sweet! thank you Matra, now the kids in my class have NO EXCUSE of saying that Hybrods aer slow pieces of crap now all i need is an excuse to excuse them from saying a MR2 spyder can beat a Lamborghini if it has NOS. (they're ricers :p)

Thumbs up to the Prius for achieving that on a stock engine... who would've imagined it (Besides Karrmann ;)) ?

erm it was 130 mile per hour. Karrmann. Not a speed to crow over really :)

Just top help put it in CONTEXT for you ....

Olympic Cyclist and IRONMAN triathlon winner, John Howard set a [B]152.2 Miles per Hour [/B] speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah on July 20, 1985.

THat is a PEDAL BICYCLE karrmann, so the Prius SPEED record is SLOWER than a man on a bike. Oh, yeah, the kids will STILL take the piss :)

130MPH is like 208kph... my mums magna can make that speed:o

i managed to get that speed (130mph) with my super car in a downhill comp :D

[IMG]http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/sped/images/reallifephotos/Shopping%20Cart.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Matra et Alpine]

Olympic Cyclist and IRONMAN triathlon winner, John Howard set a [B]152.2 Miles per Hour [/B] speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah on July 20, 1985.

THat is a PEDAL BICYCLE karrmann, so the Prius SPEED record is SLOWER than a man on a bike. Oh, yeah, the kids will STILL take the piss :)[/QUOTE]

Hopefully not for long, cos a Dutch Professional cyclist(Jeroen Blijlevens) is attacking the record soon...

[QUOTE=Matra et Alpine]erm it was 130 mile per hour. Karrmann. Not a speed to crow over really :)

Just top help put it in CONTEXT for you ....

Olympic Cyclist and IRONMAN triathlon winner, John Howard set a [B]152.2 Miles per Hour [/B] speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah on July 20, 1985.

THat is a PEDAL BICYCLE karrmann, so the Prius SPEED record is SLOWER than a man on a bike. Oh, yeah, the kids will STILL take the piss :)[/QUOTE]


How the hell did he manage to do that?

They have a HUGE gearing ratio and they sit behind a truck which removes wind resistance.
It's cheating really :)
But hey, they changed the ratios and wheels on the Prius !!!!!!!!!!!

[IMG]http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/Bicycle%20Images/152%20in%20tow.JPG[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Karrmann]now all i need is an excuse to excuse them from saying a MR2 spyder can beat a Lamborghini if it has NOS. (they're ricers :p)[/QUOTE]

Just tell them that if the lambo had the same NOS it would win.

[QUOTE=Matra et Alpine]erm it was 130 mile per hour. Karrmann. Not a speed to crow over really :)

Just top help put it in CONTEXT for you ....

Olympic Cyclist and IRONMAN triathlon winner, John Howard set a [B]152.2 Miles per Hour [/B] speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah on July 20, 1985.

THat is a PEDAL BICYCLE karrmann, so the Prius SPEED record is SLOWER than a man on a bike. Oh, yeah, the kids will STILL take the piss :)[/QUOTE]
I was warming up for a big spray until you pasted this. That was either the most well planned take down or a last minute ditch to slay the monster you nearly created.
I 'll give you the former. Its times like this I wish rep still existed. ;)

[QUOTE=Matra et Alpine]They have a HUGE gearing ratio and they sit behind a truck which removes wind resistance.
It's cheating really :)
But hey, they changed the ratios and wheels on the Prius !!!!!!!!!!!

[IMG]http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/Bicycle%20Images/152%20in%20tow.JPG[/IMG][/QUOTE]


OK thats madness lol! IT wont go down a forest track very well tho :p

i wonder what the drag coefficient on that bike is, suddenly the car peals off, can you say ... scrambled cyclist?

Hell, my car can make 130mph, and it only has 3 speeds, no overdrive, and redlines a a smidge under 5000rpm :)