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Unseating Koenigsegg: Ascari A10 sets new Top Gear lap record
Sweet Lord, how we do love progress! Cars just keep on getting faster and faster. Unfortunately drivers aren't getting any better – as evidenced by the seemingly endless stream of supercars crashing into unforgiving immovable objects – but leave it to Top Gear's anonymous pilot extraordinaire (all we know is he's called The Stig) to show the way.
The Top Gear lap record has been broken again. The new king of the Power Lap board: the Ascari A10. On this week's show, The Stig coerced the British supercar around the show's private test track in a scant 1:17.3, beating the previous record-holder, the Koenigsegg CCX (complete with special Top Gear rear wing), by three tenths of a second. The A10's more "civilized" brother, the KZ1, took a more leisurely 1:20.7 (still good enough to best the likes of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Lamborghini Murcielago and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, to name just a few).
Although the Ascari may be king today, it has to watch out for potential usurpers who have some serious gripes: the Caparo T1 posted an even faster time than the Ascari (much faster, actually), but was disqualified on a technicality. Meanwhile the Ultima GTR, in an unsanctioned (read: non-televised) test, lapped the track four and a half seconds faster than the Ascari, too. Should Top Gear give either (or better yet, both) a proper run by the books, the A10's reign could be short-lived. But in the meantime, the Koenig is dead, long like the king.
Jump for the Top Ten Top Gear Top Super Cars Lap Times.
[Source: Top Gear]
Top Gear lap times:
- Caparo T1 - 1:10.6 (disqualified)
- Ultima GTR - 1:12.8 (unsanctioned)
- Ascari A10 - 1:17.3
- Koenigsegg CCX - 1:17.6
- Pagani Zonda F - 1.18.4
- Maserati MC12 - 1.18.9
- Ferrari Enzo - 1.19.0
- Ariel Atom - 1.19.5
- Porsche Carrera GT - 1.19.8
- Ascari KZ1 - 1.20.7
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rogan 9:33AM (12/11/2007)
The Caparo was disqualified on more then a technicality. The car needs to be useable on the roads, which it certainly isn't. The article is pretty misleading in that way. Don't know about the Ultima, but the same thing might happen to it.
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Tommy 10:00AM (12/11/2007)
The Caparo "could not get over a sleeping policeman" meaning a bump, because it was so low off the ground. moreover, it's very unreliable (Jeremy had floor problems, fuel problems during his tests) and is extremely dangerous during everyday driving due to its low mass and low grip at slow speeds
John R 10:14AM (12/11/2007)
+1 rogan
+1 tommy
the Caparo is a track car that just happens to met UK motor vehicle regs, IMO. its completely useless on the road and inherently dangerous.
MixiM 1:07PM (12/11/2007)
Well, the policeman shouldn't be the only factor... The Koenigsegg with proper sound-damping a standard stereo is really a car that you COULD use for your weekend around town... This though is a street legal racecar, not the things top gear should bring on the list....
joe 9:58AM (12/11/2007)
Ascari A10: 600hp, 2822lbs....
Koenigsegg: 806hp, 2601lbs....
LOL
"Nissan cheated cause a car weighing more than the vette with less power cannot possibly go faster!!!!! logic!!!!!"
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Ligor 10:03AM (12/11/2007)
i guess you need to go to school and lear a bit more.
the track they use is very short adn it's all about turning. power is a necessity, but turning is just as important in tracks like this.
James 11:25AM (12/11/2007)
joe, the Top Gear test track is very short with no real straightways. I think the CCX had problems with traction cause it was so aerodynamically slippery and it had too much power for the track layout.
Big Rocket 12:38PM (12/11/2007)
joe, Ligor, James: If you guys think about it, all 3 of you are saying the exact same thing. Power-to-weight ratio is not the only performance yardstick, traction matters also.
Rob 10:51PM (12/11/2007)
And the GTR lapped the Top Gear track in 47 seconds...in a blizzard....with slicks....and my 80 year old grandma driving
Papercutninja 10:01AM (12/11/2007)
THanks for the spoiler warning.
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JayP 10:21AM (12/11/2007)
Agreed- spoilers suck. Thanks for the warning!!
Mike 10:01AM (12/11/2007)
I'm waiting for the first GT-R fanboi to claim that the Nissan will outrun this car by 10 seconds or so.
You know, because the A10 is only RWD, it can't be faster than the AWD GT-R, king of all cars.
I can't wait til Top Gear gets a GT-R and puts the Stig in it, maybe then the GT-R dorks will shut up and realize that, while it's fast, it's not going to be the end-all-be-all of sports car performance- it can't be if it weighs 3800lbs.
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John R 10:18AM (12/11/2007)
how did the GT-R get dragged into this?
trolls, tolls on both sides of the aisle in the never ending GT-R debate...there is no escape.
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Mike 1:05PM (12/11/2007)
Funny thing is that before I even hit the submit button, there's someone up top saying that Nissan wasn't fibbing on the GT-R lap times because the A10 is faster around the Top Gear track than the CCX.
I really would love to see the GT-R on this track to see what it can do in the hands of a third party.
mikiyas 10:24AM (12/11/2007)
+1 John R.
The Ultima GTR is NOT a nissan.
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Mike 1:06PM (12/11/2007)
I never implied that the Ultima GTR was a Nissan GT-R.
Will 10:26AM (12/11/2007)
Pneumatic struts for the Caparo T1, anyone? That'll give it the clearance it needs to get over speed bumps. Oh, and stronger duct-tape to hold the thing together. Then perhaps it will be eligible for the board, or "a proper run by the books".
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Tele 10:39AM (12/11/2007)
The Ultima GTR requires the buyer to supply their own engine, so anything they would test on the show is not representative of the entire population. Apparently it has a high enough ground clearance though, and Ultima's website proudly claims it's gone around the Top Gear test track in record time.
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clevershark 11:18AM (12/11/2007)
The Ascari wasn't the best part of Sunday's show though -- that has to go to the "sponsor" decals the guys put on their diesel racing car...
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Mike K. 11:22AM (12/11/2007)
when they're standing with the doors open and you can see decals that first time, I just about fell off the couch laughing.