There’s a new Cannonball record, and it’s insane

Jeff Glucker

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Insanity is the right word here. I’m using it to describe the latest record run in a car driving from coast to coast. The better term for this type of drive is Cannonball, and a team out there just blitzed the old record set back in 2013. That previous record run was achieved by Ed Bolian and crew, when they went across this country in just 28 hours and 50 minutes. The new time? A mind boggling 27 hours and 25 minutes.

To achieve this time, the team of drivers Arne Toman and Doug Tabutt (along with spotter Berkeley Chadwick) drove like hell in a heavily modified Mercedes-Benz E63 sedan. They left the Redball Garage in New York City at 12:57 AM on November 10th. A bit over a day later, and the trio were enjoying the oceanside breeze of Redondo Beach’s Portofino Inn. And to get there, the team averaged 103 mph. That’s the total average speed, mind you. The total average moving speed was 104. Fuel stops accounted for just 22 minutes of the trip thanks, in part, to a massive fuel cell mounted in the trunk.

There were teams of spotters along the way. The car was fitted with a ton of high-tech gear as well, including a roof-mounted thermal camera on a gimbal. This was a serious attempt and it shows. It’s also highly illegal. Stupidly dangerous. And we have to say that none of you out there should ever try something this reckless.

With that said… this was one hell of a run, no?

Head to Road & Track to read much more about it.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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19 responses to “There’s a new Cannonball record, and it’s insane”

  1. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    With respect, there isn’t any skill involved here (yes some planning and organisation), but willingness to take the risk.

    They mention an encounter with the police, but what about other road users? As in, didn’t have an accident, but…

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Well, it takes a fair bit of stamina and attention to get this drive done, at this speed, without incidents. Not condoning it, but I have to admit this is very much an impressive feat. 100+ mph as average speed is mindboggling. The longest I have driven myself, without a co-driver, was a 19 hour stretch and that included two very much necessary naps.

      Reply
    2. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Well, it takes a fair bit of stamina and attention to get this drive done, at this speed, without incidents. Not condoning it, but I have to admit this is very much an impressive feat. 100+ mph as average speed is mindboggling. The longest I have driven myself, without a co-driver, was a 19 hour stretch and that included two very much necessary naps.

      Reply
      1. outback_ute Avatar
        outback_ute

        Yes that is true, but I still don’t rate it that highly. I’ve done 20 hours solo in a day, and only stopped because there was no point going further at the time, albeit at a much lower speed. 130-140mph would be ‘easy’ in the E63 and probably the speed they would need to sustain to keep the average up.

        As a comparison back in 1951 two guys drove a Jag XK120 from Darwin to Alice Springs averaging over 90 mph for nearly 1000 miles, ‘cruising speed’ of 120-130mph complete with unfenced dirt roads including mobs of cattle (on foot) being driven along the road, several collisions with animals (kangaroos & horses) requiring repairs, fuel hand pumped from drums so 10 min plus per stop. They only passed 4 cars total on the run. https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/classic-wheels/vanishing-point

        Reply
        1. Maymar Avatar
          Maymar

          I think the simple act of driving an AMG on the highway at high speeds isn’t a massive feat (I think the R&T article even acknowledged their cruising speed isn’t uncommon on the Autobahn in normal commuting). The real skill is the vigilance in not getting caught and accounting for the behavior of other drivers who just can’t comprehend that someone would be traveling at twice their speed. Being hyper-vigilant for 27 hours straight sounds rather exhausting.

          Reply
          1. Sjalabais Avatar
            Sjalabais

            R&T did that, but I found it funny. It’s the glorified version of the Autobahn they refer to. Yes, about half the network is free of speed limits. Yes, you will find grandmas, minivans and grinning folks in rentals testing their speed limit. But, no, there’s dense traffic in commuting areas and times. There’s an enormous amount of roadwork to keep the high standards. There’s half a network limited to 130 kph or lower. There’s going to be a fair amount of surveillance (even though Germany doesn’t have as much visible police as the US or Russia have, they’re on it and Gumball-competitors etc. often fail to finish in that country).

        2. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          I guess we’re talking about “degrees of impressive” then? That Jaguar-run is much more of a feat than the Cannonball-record above, really, but they’re also hard to compare due to all the differences. I haven’t been on really long drives for years now and from that perspective, speeding with good focus for 6+ hours and (much) longer is something I know would tire me out quite thoroughly. So maybe I’m easily impressed.

          Reply
  2. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    Having just traversed West Texas over the past week, I can say that averaging 103 in the right equipment doesn’t sound so implausible for wide open space out west, though getting the execution right is a remarkable achievement. Averaging 80 (the posted limit) in a 4Runner is certainly more taxing on the machine than 125 is in that AMG.

    Reply
    1. Number_Six Avatar
      Number_Six

      Huge average speeds are easy in the bits of the west where there aren’t any people. You can run out a whole tank of gas pinned on a superbike, and your biggest hazards are desert hares, crosswinds, and coyotes.

      But those bits don’t include interstates or the Salt Lake City area or the entire East and Great Plains, and any entry into the LA area, or basically their entire route. And for that, these gentlemen can kindly screw off.

      Reply
    2. neight428 Avatar
      neight428

      Right, in other places it can be insane. That said, in Houston, on the rare occasion that the major freeways are free flowing, you won’t get much attention at 80 at all.

      Until they get past the Illinois/Iowa border, I can’t imagine they aren’t dealing with regular fairly heavy traffic. As the R&T article notes, it’s not the absolute speed, it’s that no one else’s expectations are calibrated for it. People will see you in the distant rear view mirror and cut you off knowing you will have to jump on your brakes without thinking twice about it, it doesn’t make them right, but it will make you, them and other people just as dead if you are doing 130 instead of 70.

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        In Germany, people driving flat out at night will flash at traffic from afar. That message is, at least, very easy to interpret.

        Reply
        1. outback_ute Avatar
          outback_ute

          People on the autobahn are expecting 50-60mph+ closing speeds.

          Reply
  3. HuntRhymesWith Avatar
    HuntRhymesWith

    I wonder where they did the top speed of 193? Must have been before their 91 octane troubles.

    Reply
    1. outback_ute Avatar
      outback_ute

      Shades of Dan Gurney “we never exceeded 175” from the first Cannonball Run

      Reply
    2. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      Why would you put such low octane fuel into such a high performance car?

      Reply
      1. outback_ute Avatar
        outback_ute

        The US uses a different measuring system, their 91 is roughly equal to 95 ron

        Reply
      2. neight428 Avatar
        neight428

        In certain places, 91 is as high as you will find, with 93 being common here in the swampland. With such obviously robust logistical planning, I’m surprised this didn’t come up. A few cans of Torco might have been easy insurance, but maybe they foul up the sensors on the M-B. It works pretty well on a temperamental Poncho.

        Reply
      3. Andrew Fails Avatar
        Andrew Fails

        One of their planned fuel stations was closed so they had to use a back-up location. I’m assuming that this was the place where they got stuck with lower octane. Also, for a lot of the Midwest, 91 is as good as you’re going to get.

        Reply
  4. Zentropy Avatar
    Zentropy

    Such a feat on public roads (especially fatigued) isn’t skillful– it’s a display of stupidity and a selfish disregard for the safety of others. Promotion of this sort of dangerous behavior is what gives driving enthusiasts a bad reputation.

    Driving home from high school one day, a classmate in a Nova pulled along beside my Mercury on a winding two-lane in an attempt to goad me into racing him. After several attempts I still refused to bite, so he blasted ahead and took a blind corner way too fast. He then promptly locked it up and swerved to narrowly miss an elderly lady crossing the road to get her mail. After sliding off the road in a spray of gravel, he managed to regain control and sped off. I stopped to check that the old lady was unharmed, and considered the possible grim outcome had I taken the bait.

    The “Cannonball” is nothing but a glorified street race. It’s neither ballsy nor impressive. It’s just stupid. Automotive competition is fun and can be a reasonably safe way to demonstrate driving skill, but racing of any sort should be on a track, not public roads.

    Reply