British Bedlam: Twin Turbo V10 The World's Most Powerful Car

Motoring Channel Staff - 9/Nov/2006

London, England — If you love the punch in the guts that modern turbocharged cars provide, whether from a Ford XR6 Turbo, a Volkswagen Golf GTI, perhaps a Mitsubishi Evo IX or even the new twin turbo BMW 335i, you may want to pay attention.

British car maker Bristol has unleashed what appears to be - on paper - the most powerful car in the world, the twin turbocharged Fighter T.

This British vehicle with an American heart is now technically the most powerful automobile in the world, making 754kW of power and 1432Nm of torque. In a word: loco.

If someone tries to convince you that the most powerful non-modified vehicle in the world is the 736kW (1000hp) quad turbocharged Bugatti Veyron, or some other peasant's vehicle like the M5 or the Porsche 911 Turbo, you can now tell them that Bristol's new Fighter T is the world's most powerful car.

Where does it get it's power? The truck-like 8.0-litre V10 that powers the Dodge Viper. 

Only Bristol's customers wanted more power than the naturally aspirated Fighter S model, so this new Fighter T model gets twin intercoolers and twin turbochargers to ramp up the power somewhat. Here's the vital statistics:

754kW @ 5600rpm
1432Nm @ 4500rpm

With enough power to surpass 400km/h without breaking a sweat, this new 1595kg British bulldog is an eye-watering prospect. The auto company behind the completely mad design, Bristol, says that it's top speed of 432km/h (268mph) was limited to 362km/h (225mph) to keep things, ahem, civil.

Making 754kW of power (1012hp) from a forced induction 8.0-litre engine, it's only a matter of time before someone cracks the mythical megawatt or 'mW' mark that signifies 1000kW of power, or about 1341hp from a production car.

The crazier-than-a-coconut super car will dispatch the 0-100km/h dash in just 3.5 seconds and according to Bristol, it can almost reach 100km/h in first gear, such are the tall ratios, while the 1432Nm of torque (about 1036 lb. ft) is enough shunt to completely mash your innards at 4500rpm, where this torque level peaks.

The all aluminium 8.0 litre V10 has a 9.3:1 compression ratio and gets its steroid-enhanced power primarily from a pair of ball bearing water cooled turbochargers (with intercooling), and despite the engine's strong composition, the internals needed to be upgraded and strengthened to cope with the increased internal turbo pressure. Bristol also added new cylinder heads with a higher flow complete with high lift camshafts, while a much more efficient cooling system and catalysts were employed, along with a free flow exhaust system.

Getting close to 800 kilowatts of power and more than 1400Nm of torque to the rear wheels is taken care of by a 6-speed manual gearbox with an increased torque capacity, and revised gear ratios to suit the engine's turbo torque characteristics. Bristol Cars is no newcomer to the turbo scene either: in January 1980 they introduced what is believed to be the UK's first turbocharged car – the Bristol Beaufighter.

The British marque appears to have a fondness for the word 'Fighter', and their latest effort is more than merely a slammed Viper V10 engine. As well as the insanely powerful engine, the Bristol Fighter T features a high performance chassis to match with a 30% stiffer frame than the Fighter S that's also features the V10 engine, albeit without turbochargers. The Figther T also gets firmer springs than its stablemate, a 25% stiffer front anti-roll bar plus a 10mm lower ride height and other changes, such as firmer sports dampers and 40% increased castor. Rolling stock is 285 aspect ratio 19 inch front tyres and wide 335 aspect ratio 19-inch rear tyres, which cover five-spoke 19-inch aluminium alloy lightweight wheels.

But even with such large rear wheels, 1432Nm of torque is an incredible amount of twist, and will no doubt do incredible damage over short periods of time. Driving in the wet would also be an interesting (and haphazard) experiment.

The exterior design may not be quite as radical as the Bugatti Veyron, but as the company points out, the Fighter is one of the few cars on this planet that were designed with aerodynamic efficiency placed ahead of all other considerations: the frag coefficient is just 0.27. 

Bristol used to be an aerospace company, so it's ties with the aeronautics industry are clear in it's single-minded, swept back design. Bristol Cars explains that the teardrop form of the passenger area ensures the lowest possible lift and drag, while also giving uninterrupted all-round vision. Gullwing doors, says the company, are an intelligent solution on a car such as this to ensure easy entry and exit even in confined spaces - and let's face it, gullwing doors are very cool.

Inside the cockpit, the driver and his single passenger are faced with an aluminium instrument cluster and centre console, and the similarly turned aluminium switch gear adds even more sporty prestige. Being a twin turbo vehicle, Bristol Cars has added a turbo boost gauge to see how much pressure is being generated, while racing style seats and a lightweight steering wheel round out the interior aspects.

The new car is expected to be launced in UK by September 2007, and will go for exactly £351,931, which wouldn't offer much change from one million Australian dollars. The car, however, will not be sold in Australia. We're not yet sure if that's a good or a bad thing...

Related articles:
- Bugatti Veyron
- Bristol Cars UK