A week ago today, an amazing car regularly seen driving around south Florida dropping kids off at school accomplished something no other street-legal automobile has ever accomplished.
No, this wasn't some European or one-off supercar. In fact, it was none other than a 2006 Ford GT purchased new by Johnny Bohmer and owner of Gas Monkey Garage, who drove it on a world record-setting run, reaching a top speed of 310.8 mph (500.1 kp/h).
That's not a typo, folks!
As the license plate depicts in the photographs, Bohmer's Ford GT is affectionately dubbed "BADD GT" and is equipped with cold AC, electric windows, turn signals, and many other features available in everyday drivers, certainly living up to its moniker.
The scene was the Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Bohmer and his team from Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds, LLC, achieved the amazing feat while performing tests on FuelTech's FT600 ECU system. That particular ECU, in addition to four Garmin Ultra 30 cameras and a Racepak data recorder, were used to measure BADD GT's speed.
“We’ve been blown away by the capabilities of this car,” said Gas Monkey Garage’s Richard Rawlings, who began sponsoring the car in 2016. “Johnny and I are committed to showing the world the kind of speed that this car can achieve and feel we can create records that will last for years.”
Bohmer and company are no strangers to speed records with their BADD GT. In 2010, they broke the 250 mph (402.3 kp/h) barrier in the standing mile. Then in 2012, the team earned its place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the Fastest Standing Mile in a street car at 282.232 mph (454.35 kp/h), a record that, 10 years later, remains unbroken.
What is so impressive in watching the video below is the rate and consistency of the acceleration throughout the gears.
Oh, and ya' gotta love the mantra of the Gas Monkey Garage – "Blood, Sweat, and Beers."
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