Sunday, June 27, 2010

Getting exited about TV

If you want to know how to really get excited while watching TV... I have a few recommendations.

First, you can tune into Showtime after 10pm - though your mother might not be happy about that one.
Second, watch any sporting event where the score is tied and a ticket to the playoffs is on the line. Overtime is a plus (see Minnesota Twins vs. Detroit Tigers; Game 163).
Third, watch the TopGear episode in which James May drives a Bugatti Veyron.

The Veyron is the fastest production car ever made. It's top speed is 253 miles per hour.

The Veyron uses 270 horsepower to reach 155 miles per hour. For reference, Edmunds.com states that the 2007 Nissan Altima has 270 horsepower. But, the Veyron can do more.

In order to reach 253 mph the veyron requires another 730 horsepower. That's a total of 1,001 horsepower! Have you ever seen a comma in the horsepower stat?

But, where do you test something like that? According to TopGear, they were at the Volkswagen testing facility in Germany. It was built during the Cold War close enough to the East German border that it was in a no-fly-zone. It has 60 miles of private track, including a 5.5 mile straight-away.
The host states that you can't see the opposite end because of the curvature of the earth.

But - you say - what about the speed?!
Even with five-and-a-half miles, the driver couldn't start at the beginning of the straight-a-way. He entered through a banking turn already going 120 mph. It took him 9.4 seconds to get from there to 186 mph.
And then, he reached the incredible speed mentioned earlier... and stated that he was covering a full futbol pitch every second.
The car was taking in enough air every second, for a human to breath for 4 days.

Of course, the dramatic music didn't hurt, but it certainly is very exciting.

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