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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Buick Regal GS Clocked At 162mph In Nevada Open Road Rally
Performance sedan places second in class in the high-speed event with a pace that had seemed improbable for a stock Regal GS.
Buick engineers Bill Rietow and John Townsend shut down the doubters when they drove an essentially stock Bucik Regal GS 162 mph in a Nevada open-road speed trial. (Photo: Bucik)
Bill Rietow and John Townsend, a pair of Buick engineers who believe in practicing what they preach, have a hobby that may not be shared by many other Buick owners: they race a Buick Regal GS in open road rallies.
In September 2011, the duo ran the Silver State Classic Challenge in a stock Regal GS. Competing in the 120-mph class, the team took first place honors, finishing within 0.019 seconds of a “perfect” 45:00 time.
Last weekend, Rietow and Townsend managed a second place finish in the Nevada Open Road Challenge, which uses the same closed-for-the-event public roads as the Silver State Classic. To make things more interesting, the team entered in the 135 mph class, which allows a maximum top speed of 165 mph.
Here’s where we eat crow: We said that 165 mph was “well beyond the reach of a stock Regal GS,” which is powered by a 2-liter, high output four-cylinder engine that generates 270 horsepower.
It turns out that it isn’t, as a course radar gun clocked Rietow and Townsend at a speed of 162 mph, which is about as close to the 165 mph cap as you’d dare run. In the future, we’ll acknowledge that the Regal GS’ top speed is “in excess of” 162 mph.
Rietow and Townsend completed the course distance within 0.4 seconds of the ideal 40:00 time, which requires perfect coordination and good communication between navigator (Townsend) and driver (Rietow). The Regal GS entered was stock, except for safety modifications (roll bar, five-point harnesses) and data collection computers.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
In September 2011, the duo ran the Silver State Classic Challenge in a stock Regal GS. Competing in the 120-mph class, the team took first place honors, finishing within 0.019 seconds of a “perfect” 45:00 time.
Last weekend, Rietow and Townsend managed a second place finish in the Nevada Open Road Challenge, which uses the same closed-for-the-event public roads as the Silver State Classic. To make things more interesting, the team entered in the 135 mph class, which allows a maximum top speed of 165 mph.
Here’s where we eat crow: We said that 165 mph was “well beyond the reach of a stock Regal GS,” which is powered by a 2-liter, high output four-cylinder engine that generates 270 horsepower.
It turns out that it isn’t, as a course radar gun clocked Rietow and Townsend at a speed of 162 mph, which is about as close to the 165 mph cap as you’d dare run. In the future, we’ll acknowledge that the Regal GS’ top speed is “in excess of” 162 mph.
Rietow and Townsend completed the course distance within 0.4 seconds of the ideal 40:00 time, which requires perfect coordination and good communication between navigator (Townsend) and driver (Rietow). The Regal GS entered was stock, except for safety modifications (roll bar, five-point harnesses) and data collection computers.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
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