We spend so much time talking about these modern four-digit horsepower cars fighting over the title to be the fastest, that we often overlook the cars that pioneered the fight along the way. What’s even better is when one of the cars that pioneered the fight is still king — it could possibly hold the title as the fastest stock bodied car for decades. So, which super car are we talking about?
You’ll be hard pressed to find this car on any ‘fastest’ lists, the Banks Pontiac Trans Am GTA grabbed the title as the world’s fastest passenger car back in 1986. At the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Trans Am hit the record the first time at 268-miles per hour, only to top itself a year later at 283-miles per hour. The team was trying to hit 300 miles per hour, but that was never achieved. Still, we’re trying to find a car that’s topped that since, and we’re coming up empty.
It’s hard to think that a car built 30-years ago is still dominating over the extreme builds of today, but to its credit, it was built to be an absolute monster. A twin-turbo system with air-to-water intercooling, electronic fuel-injection, and data-logging helped this Trans Am chase the 300-mile per hour mark.
When the records were set, it was piloted by Don “The Iceman” Stringfellow, a veteran top speed racer. Only a man with the name Iceman could pull this off, and he had incredible trust in the car’s parachute and roll cage, although the runs went off without a hitch.
For those of you who want to say this is impressive ‘for the ‘80s’, it’s impressive for the 2016s as well. To give you a little perspective, the fastest production car right now is a KOENIGSEGG AGERA R with a 273 mile per hour capacity. One stop down is the Hennessy Venom GT at 270-miles per hour. Sure these are ‘production car’ numbers, but these are built to the skin of their teeth. Knowing that this could very possibly still hold the fastest stock bodied car title makes us love the Trans Am even more!
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
