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Insane go-kart is quicker than Dodge Viper
14 May 2007 But a little kart with a powerful motorcycle engines equals utterly terrifying performance. It’s almost as quick as a Bugatti Veyron to 60 mph. Trackside’s Keith Collantine introduces the 113bhp kart that can keep pace with a Dodge Viper. You wouldn’t think twice about doing 70mph on the motorway. But it’s an entirely different proposition in a kart with no roof, no windscreen, no seat belts – where you sit with your backside mere millimetres from the road. And the Gixxerkart can go another 50 per cent quicker. Its German creator took a standard kart, ripped out the bog standard 125cc engine and replaced it with a 113bhp unit from a 1988 Suzuki GSX-R motor bike. It usually takes a lot more than 113bhp for us to get excited about a car – but this astonishing creation boasts some exceptional performance figures. The Gixxerkart will rocket from zero to 100 kph (62 mph) in under three seconds. That’s Bugatti Veyron and Formula 1 car territory. It has a top speed of 170kph (105 mph) – an insane proposition given the driver sits mere millimetres from the ground. It weighs a paltry 130kg without a driver – nearly seven times less than a 900kg Ford Ka. In an attempt to keep everything under control it has front and rear disc brakes like a normal car – the average kart only has brakes at the rear. Unfortunately it’s not race track legal and you can’t buy one either – it was hand built from scratch as a one-off in 2002. But the constant search for speed has already spawned a successor. The same company is now producing a 164bhp kart… Video
Sabine Schmitz pilots the Gixxerkart. She’s famous for her exploits racing a Ford Transit around the Nürburgring on Top Gear and thrashing Jeremy Clarkson. Watch her put the Gixxerkart up against a proper sports car – the Dodge Viper. Racing round-up F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona British rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton leads the world championship after only his fourth race. He finished second in Spain to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Hamilton has 30 points, team mate Fernando Alonso 28 and Massa 27. Can Lewis Hamilton be champion this year? Tell us what you think. GP2 Bruno Senna – nephew of late F1 champion Ayrton – won his first GP2 race in Spain. But Timo Glock persevered in the second and now leads the F1 feeder series that Hamilton won last year with 31 points to Senna’s 18. External links Auto Trader is not responsible for the content of external links. Auto Trader links Six-wheeled F1 car |
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