So in 2006 - I drove from New York to LA stopping only 5X for fuel and managed to get from coast to coast in 31 hours & 4 minutes - besting a time of 32 hours 7 minutes set in 1983's U.S. Express Race. There has been a lot of time effort from many parties invested in putting together a documentary that interviews the guys from the 80's who did this with some great vintage footage and lots of coverage of the preparation and driving from my trip. A version of the documentary is out for consumption and it is a neat story, but not without controversy with the other parties involved. My involvement with the operation was to get in the drivers seat and hammer down which resulted the first successful attempt at breaking the record. Anyhow if you havent heard about it, its a pretty neat story. This jalopnik article helps explain the current situation.

http://jalopnik.com/5970544/why-you-...ar-documentary

This is the car we drove ->
DM.

 

Good choice of a driving car. I was thinking S63 or something along the lines of that. Comfortable

 

sounds messy but at least you got to drive. Did the movie finally come out?

 

Yes, a version of the documentary is out.

 

I just saw the documentary. Good stuff. Dave - I saw a glimpse of you working on your 993 in the film!

 

thanks for sharing. sounds like an interesting story. hope the right people get credit.
If you tried this today they would lock you up for sure...kind of sad. hope everything works out.

 

Has that Texas guy with 550 Maranello or someone else tried to break 31:04 since then? It seems very few people are really interested on long distance driving. Most seem to have build in limit of 1000 miles/day and interest towards Gumball 3000 type events which really don't require much preparation other than thick wallet.

 

I would love to give it a shot if I knew I could afford any legal trouble I might get into along the way.

 

Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins - thought they broke the record with a 31:54(think that was their time) minute drive. We had actually set the record before they drove and while they did beat the record from the 80's they were never faster than us. Funny enough - we did the Gumball 2003 and both those guys were participants that year as well and a bit of a rivalry developed. We kept our drive secret for a year while the statutes of limitations expired and Alex finished writing his book. Rawlings now has a show "Fast and Loud" which is not only a name of the show but a great way to describe him.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ork-la/3343331
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/31/us...l-speed-record
http://jalopnik.com/meet-the-guy-who...8-h-1454092837

Next one who tries needs bigger truck to put more fuel in. Pickup bed full of diesel isn't answer but modern turbo diesel sedan with extra 20 gallons might be. At least it consumes significantly less fuel at 100-150mph cruising speed and draws less attention than any coupe or sport car.

 

Not really, do get the avg speed up, you need some torque do decrease acceleration times from 80-140. The amount of time saved accelerating from 65-150 is not to be underestimated. I say a fuel safe 32gal cell in the 993TT is the way to go. Thier "Stopped Time" was almost 50minutes. Ours was ~30. Carrying more gas means more time fueling, these guys were smart in that they could use 2 pumps. They also ran at 13mpg, in the M5 we did 16. Yes, eliminating fuel stops cuts down on time, but if it is offset by time waiting at the pump there isnt much advantage. THese guys did what I knew was possilbe after my drive in 2006. I averaged 114mph for 1200mi between OH & OK - when I turned the wheel over we were on pace for 28:xx. It wasnt even hard nor did it seem or feel dangerous - ever drive east to west on the 80 thru PA? Deer and bear are the biggest danger - there arent really cars to speak of on the road after midnight out there. In 2006, my co-driver was only concerned about breaking the old record and believed in a 93mph cruising speed which averaged with 5, 5min fuel stops would achieve an average of 91mph (enough to break the old record). My thought was to go as fast as possible when possible - that's what these guys did.

 

didn't Richard just buy the old Jag XJS that once held the record that he claims to have broken? (in one of his last episodes?) And out of curiosity was his riff with Jesse James legit or a TV media stunt?

amazing your the record holder... many have tried, with a ton of money behind them and many haven't even come close...

Thanks for sharing....

 

Haven't kept up with Richard, I watch the hsow from time to time - but not fully up with it. Don't know much about the Jesse James riff either. but this is from the 2006 Run. There is a documentary out, but Alex is fighting for the rights to the footage.

 

Part of the reason for 50 minute stops was that they had to top up oil for few times. Less used car would help there.

One good thing about diesel is that some pumps are faster as they are designed to fill up large truck tanks. Modern diesel like BMW 535d or M550 xD are fast enough 80-150 mph when they are chipped. We have tried to outrun 535d at German Autobahn with 928 GTS and its very close up to 158 when BMW hits its limiter. Its also very close 0-100 even though BMW is heavier as it gets power down better due to traction control. GTS is not exactly 993TT but in stock form it goes 0-60 in 5.5s and 1/4 mile in 13.5. Chipped modern 3L twin or triple turbo diesel is faster than E39 M5. They are torque monsters. Too bad M550 xD is not available in US, at least not yet. It has 375 SAE hp and 546 ft-lbf as stock when E39 M5 has 394 and 369.

http://www.automobilesreview.com/aut...t-drive/58526/

Document about your run is really good. Lots of good ideas how to do it like night vision to see cop car engines running long way away at night. Too bad there is argument about it.

 

Dave, what was behind your head attached to the back of the seat in the video above?