A Ford powered car has just recorded the 11th fastest lap around the Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit. Nothing unusual about that, but this Ford only had a three cylinder, one litre engine doing the business.
To showcase the
potential of Ford’s tiny new EcoBoost engine, Ford engineers had removed the 180
PS,1.6 litre EcoBoost unit from a Formula Ford chassis and installed a 205 PS
version of the tiny titan. Not only that, the car was road legal!
The team had
fitted wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, wing mirrors and a
horn, and was running on road-legal tyres.
And yet it
still managed to record a 7 minute 22 second lap.
"This
little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief," said racing
driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who drove it. "It's simply
astonishing that a 3 cylinder, one litre engine can deliver that kind of
performance."
Top speed was
just shy of 160 mph with a 0-60 time of under four seconds, and it completed
the 12.94 mile circuit at an average speed of 105 mph.
And here’s
the thing, at an average speed of 75 mph, this little racing rascal was returning
57 mpg.
Now, what
are the odds on Ford having already supplied a 1 litre Ecoboost engine to a certain
rally car prep firm somewhere in Cumbria? Just think, spare engines could be carried as hand luggage!
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