# How quick can production cars get? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632 "2011-01-14T19:19:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632/21 "2011-01-16T06:50:12Z")
As has been stated, higher speeds require research into suspension, tires, aerodynamics, brakes etc. A lot of that research once came from auto racing. In the last forty years, sanctioning bodies have been working very hard to keep speeds to 200-230mph because of concerns about spectator safety. Driver safety too, but less strenuously. There have been several instances where cars have nearly launched into the grandstands, and some fans have been killed by loose wheels. In 1955, a crash at LeMans in France left 100 dead and 100 injured. People were more tolerant of life’s dangers then, but it nearly eliminated the entire sport. It would have a greater effect today. Until someone constructs a fence that does not restrict visibility but can restrain a 2000 pound car (and the parts that it is shedding) at 250 mph, little research will be done into what is required to go faster. Given the increasing population, it become less possible every day to attain speeds over 100mph for more than a mile at a time, so it’s not practical to design a faster car. And frankly, 100 is as fast as I want to see on public roads. Even in the desert There’s no need to go 200mph but I can understand the rush of acceleration. If they made a Mustang that went 0-60 in a two seconds, that’s all most would need. Bijou Drains had it right when he said that if you want acceleration, buy a motorcycle. Just don’t drive that fast near me. I can see the bike but my brain doesn’t have enough experience processing a vehicle moving three times faster than me. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632/22 "2011-01-16T08:36:33Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > Bijou Drains had it right when he said that if you want acceleration, buy a motorcycle. Just don’t drive that fast near me. I can see the bike but my brain doesn’t have enough experience processing a vehicle moving three times faster than me. Not enough experience? :dubious: How humble of you, Mr. Nuvolari 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632/23 "2011-01-16T15:20:23Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > Included in the aerodynamics issue is making sure that the car doesn’t take off. You need to generate lots of downforce to keep the tyres on the road and of course more aerodynamic downforce means more drag which means more power is required. If you make a car with more power then it will run out of fuel very quickly indeed, so you add a larger fuel tank, which adds weight, which means you need more power etc. etc. The whole thing just doesn’t scale favourably. To get the Veyron up to it’s maximum speed you have to put in a special mode that **reduces** down force. > [@](#): > > But 230 mph is about as fast as the Veyron will go until you put the car into top-speed mode. This involves coming to a stop and, while the car is idling, turning a key in a lock on the floor to the left of the driver’s seat. When you do that, the car sinks down even lower on its suspension, until ground clearance has been reduced to a mere 2.6 inches in front and 2.8 in the rear. This setup also causes the front underbody flaps to close and the rear spoiler and wing to retract, although the wing remains tilted out of the body at a slight two-degree angle. These changes reduce the car’s drag coefficient from 0.41 to 0.36, and they reduce the peak downforce from 770 to 120 pounds. [http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/05q4/bugatti\_veyron\_16.4-first\_drive\_review/performance\_and\_aerodynamics\_page\_2](http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/05q4/bugatti_veyron_16.4-first_drive_review/performance_and_aerodynamics_page_2) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632/24 "2011-01-16T16:03:41Z")
> [@Anachronism](#): > > To get the Veyron up to it’s maximum speed you have to put in a special mode that **reduces** down force. Don’t hit a bump. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632/25 "2011-01-16T17:26:08Z")
Also, do try to avoid driving it into the Gulf of Mexico. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-quick-can-production-cars-get/567632.md?page=1)