What in the hell did he have under his hood?

[SeaCat]

I didn't know an Escort could do that.

Teenage driver held over 140 mph YouTube video Thu Aug 30, 10:17 AM ET



LONDON (Reuters) - A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of having posted a video of himself on YouTube driving at speeds of more than 140 mph, police said Thursday.

The car, a Ford Escort, was filmed on the A76 single-carriageway road in southwest Scotland.

The detained 19-year-old has not been named.

Sergeant Scott McLachlan, from the Roads Policing Unit at Dumfries and Galloway police, described it as "completely foolish behavior."

"Not only did he endanger his own life, but that of other road-users. It is unacceptable, and to post a recording of such driving on the Internet is entirely stupid."

One-in-three fatal accidents involve drivers under the age of 25, he added.

"Young men in particular seem to think they are invincible behind the wheel -- but the facts tell a different story."


Cat

 

[Weird Harold]

I didn't know an Escort could do that.

Teenage driver held over 140 mph YouTube video ...

The car, a Ford Escort, was filmed on the A76 single-carriageway road in southwest Scotland.

I don't know if it is still the case, but an English Ford Escort used to be an entirely different car than an American "Ford Escort."

If nothing else, the Emission Control Systems on the US version are probably enough to knock 40 MPH off the top speed.

 

[The_Fool]

I remember reading an article about a 400 hp Ford Fiesta back in the day...built on a 4 cylinder.

 

[Handprints]

I don't know if it is still the case, but an English Ford Escort used to be an entirely different car than an American "Ford Escort."

If nothing else, the Emission Control Systems on the US version are probably enough to knock 40 MPH off the top speed.

There are a range of Escorts sold in Britain and Europe which have engines built by Cosworth, special suspension packs - sometimes from Lotus, I think, and custom aerodynamic packages. They're like Corvettes that can negotiate turns. UK emissions laws are considerably tighter than America's.

Dumfriesshire, in addition to being one of the most beautiful places on earth (with some of the best lowland shooting in Scotland, to boot) is David Coulthard country: no shortage of boy racers to whom death is preferable to a life of sheep farming.

H

 

[Weird Harold]

There are a range of Escorts sold in Britain and Europe which have engines built by Cosworth, special suspension packs - sometimes from Lotus, I think, and custom aerodynamic packages. They're like Corvettes that can negotiate turns.

It's been 30+ years since I was last in England (when there were Ford Escorts in England, but not in America) I'm not surprised that there are custom/hiigh performance models available though -- there were aftermarket performance add-ons available right from the very first Escort model.

UK emissions laws are considerably tighter than America's.

From what I've seen of specifications and performance data on European models vs American Models, there is a difference in emissions control philosophy that doesn't sacrifice as much horsepower for clean exhaust in Europe as American (and especially California) emissions laws require.

My last direct experience with European Emissions control was in the mid-80's in Germany. As with my experience with English emissions/safety regulations in the early 70's, the germans were much tighter on inspection and enforcement than they were on the technical specifications they were inspecting/enforcing (as compared to the contemporary US "smog control" prodecures and specifications.)

Whether European Emissions Control limits have gotten tighter than the US limits in the last 25 years, I can't say from personal experience, but judging from past personal experience with the differences in European attitudes about cars, I suspect that tighter enforcement of lower standards has a bigger effect on both air quality and the public's perceptions of how strict the standards are.

 

[Lisa Denton]

no shortage of boy racers to whom death is preferable to a life of sheep farming.

H

What? Are the sheep really ugly there?

I was talking to a teenager on break at a company I was just looking over. He said he had his lil car (bought when he was 17) all paid off, and had been saving money, he needed approx 2000 bucks he thought, to have his stearring wheel and pedals and stuff put on the other side of the car.

I know little about teenage boys and thier cars these days, and asked why he wanted that. He said then it would be just like a car made overseas. I thought about it and asked how much would it cost to get everyone in the US to drive on the other side of the road.

He looked at me as if I was the one who was crazy ................... kids.

 

[R. Richard]

There are a range of Escorts sold in Britain and Europe which have engines built by Cosworth, special suspension packs - sometimes from Lotus, I think, and custom aerodynamic packages. They're like Corvettes that can negotiate turns. UK emissions laws are considerably tighter than America's.

Dumfriesshire, in addition to being one of the most beautiful places on earth (with some of the best lowland shooting in Scotland, to boot) is David Coulthard country: no shortage of boy racers to whom death is preferable to a life of sheep farming.

H

There was a very powerful Escort RS Cosworth built from 1992-1996. This Escort RS Cosworth was the most powerful Escort road car of all time. I had a race-proved turbocharged 16-valve four-cylinder engine, which produced no less than 227bhp in standard form.

The Escort RS Cosworth also had a wing/spoiler styling package, which was carefully tuned in wind-tunnel testing. It was the first Ford Escort to develop F1-style aerodynamic downforce as road speed capability rose. In standard form the Escort RS Cosworth could reach 140mph.

There were other powerful Escorts, but IIRC they topped out oaround 130 HP.

 

[Handprints]

There were other powerful Escorts, but IIRC they topped out oaround 130 HP.

We really need my girl-racer wife here as a referee... I have no idea what the current crop of high-end racing Escorts will do. 140 sounds high but possible, and there's no shortage of teen Scots with clear ideas about the uses of an aftermarket supercharger...

 

[Handprints]

What? Are the sheep really ugly there?

They look best with mint sauce.
H

 

[neonlyte]

What? Are the sheep really ugly there?

Everyone knows the ugly sheep are easy

 

[Lisa Denton]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b11/LisaDenton/valentine.jpg