I like the Texas Mile because it’s big and crazy, just like an event in my home state ought to be. There’s the record-breaking runs from the Hennessey Venom GT and other cars with horsepower in the four digit range, plus ridiculous wild cards like this: a 1996 Saab 900 that made it to a staggering 174 mph.
Yes, 174 mph. In a Saab that’s almost 20 years old and still looks basically stock.
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This Swedish land missile’s 2.0-liter four was running on E85 ethanol gas and had an upgraded Garrett turbo, a custom tune and other goodies to make it put down 465 horsepower, presumably going to the front wheels. It was fast enough to hit 143.7 mph at the half-mile mark before going all the way to 174.
Kudos to whoever built this monster sleeper, and especially to the sumbitch who was brave enough to get behind the wheel and take it to that speed. Everything’s bigger in Texas, even our Saabs. (Even if he is running Colorado plates. I say he gets a pass here.)
Hat tip to Autoblog!
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