Volkswagen creates 328km/h Beetle
And no, we're not talking about the Porsche 911 but a new record-beating Bonneville Lake racerVolkswagen has announced it has set a new land speed record at the Lake Bonneville with a specially tuned Beetle that clocked a top speed of 328.105km/h over a distance of a mile at the annual World of Speed event.
Called the Beetle LSR, Volkswagen claims the new record is the world's fastest speed ever documented for a Beetle.
To help it achieve the high speed, the small Volkswagen came powered with a 405kW/571Nm version of the production vehicle's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine.
Not that the engine was anywhere near standard specification, in fact to produce the extra power the road engine gains a bigger turbo, new pistons, camshafts, connecting roads and specially modified cylinder head.
Helping cope with the conditions, the Beetle also ran special narrow wheels and tyres. Other non-standard features of the road-going Beetle include a significantly lower ride height, limited-slip differential, rollover cage, race seat and twin brake parachutes.
The previous world speed record was set back in 1988 when a Volkswagen Beetle clocked a top speed of 282km/h.
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