[DML] Re: eBay Delorean

[Ann & Ed Thompson <RappaRivaRat@xxxx>]

> Has anybody seen one of the recent Deloreans posted on eBay claiming
> that the Delorean is one of the fasted production cars on the road? He
> said he got it to go over 160MPH with the stock engine! 

The DeLorean was never touted to be "one of the fastest production cars
on the road". If it were, it would have never been fitted with the 85
MPH clock. Those that have ever owned/driven a DeLorean know better. 

According to the manufacturer's specifications, the DeLorean's top speed
was unrealistically advertised at 130 MPH. This was a "calculated" value.
The test track at the factory was not nearly long enough to attempt to
achieve a speed anywhere near 130 MPH. As a matter of fact the track was 
designed for a top speed of around 70 MPH, the top legal speed limit in most
of the civilized world at the time. 

"Car and Driver" reported the top speed to be 120 MPH, "estimated". Extensive
road tests conducted by "Road & Track" revealed a more realistic top speed of
109 MPH in 4th gear at 5600 rpm and the same top speed of 109 MPH in 5th gear
at 4400 rpm. The somewhat anemic engine at only 130 HP @ 5500 rpm, with the
torque topping out at 162 lb-ft @ 2750 rpm, did not have enough horsepower or
torque to overcome the laws of nature above 109 MPH with this particular car on
that particular day at that particular test site. These are simply scientific
test facts. A caveat: On any given day, it is highly unlikely that any two
identical automobiles will produce identical test results. A very generous
margin of error of +10% would have produced a top speed of less than 120 MPH
in R&T's tests.

Regards,
Ed Thompson (#6419 since 1982)
Midlothian, VA
USA