2008 Mercedes Brabus Bullit Black Arrow

Just how fast is too fast? Most humans barely ever experience 150 mph in a car, let alone 200 mph. Can anyone really tell the difference between 195 mph and 200 mph? Once you experience speed in this elite range, it can be hard to tell the difference.

"It's not so much the actual experience that counts, but the imagination of what it might be like to do 200, 210, or 220 mph," says a grinning Ulrich Gauffrés, the head honcho of Brabus's R&D department. "With the long axle ratio, the Mercedes Brabus Bullit Black Arrow could theoretically exceed 230 mph. But because of the extreme mix of power, torque, and load, we pull the plug at 350 kph [217 mph]. Incidentally, all our customers so far have opted for the more explosive but ultimately less dramatic shorter final-drive ratio."

Four of these uber sedans have been built to date, none have exceeded 196 mph as of yet. That's fast by any one's standards except for maybe the firm that builds them, Brabus, who has a long history of building fast Mercs. Plant your foot on the gas pedal and general mayhem ensues. Tires spin uncontrollably, the rear tries to take over the front. But when your punishing the rear axle with 974 lb ft of torque, that can be expected. As a matter of fact, the bad Brabus has to be chip restricted to 811 lb ft to somewhat protect the rest of the drivetrain.

Masochists can opt for the total package by opting for the matte black finish for an extra $6200.

Powering this freight train is a 6.2-liter twin-turbo V-12 that musters 720 hp at 5100 rpm and serves up 811 lb-ft of torque from 2100 rpm. Compared with the twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter unit that it's based on (the one that powers Mercedes-Benz's S600, CL600, and SL600 models), the uprated engine features a longer-stroke crankshaft, bigger-bore cylinders, special pistons and connecting rods, high-performance camshafts, and a free-flow exhaust that's brutal enough to crack an egg from a mile away.

The transmission is a five speed automatic, which is reasonable since it's recommended that you keep both hands on the wheel to prevent being embarrassed. Traction and stability control help, too, as do the 285/30YR-19 rear Yokohamas, which are a little fatter than the 265/30YR-19 footwear on the front wheels. Other chassis upgrades include beefier antiroll bars, a wider track, high-performance brakes, and a specially prepared ten-way-adjustable spring and damper setup. Extra money buys carbon-ceramic brake discs, but the standard setup is better-suited for everyday use. Combining twelve-pot fixed calipers and 15.0-inch rotors in the front with six-piston calipers and 14.2-inch discs in the back, the Bullit decelerates with vigor.

the 4079-pound Bullit will accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds, according to Brabus. After 10.5 seconds, the Bullit reaches 124 mph. Give it fourteen more seconds, and it will thunder past 186 mph, still gaining momentum. While lesser cars like the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG or the BMW M5 start to run out of steam at 155 mph, the monster from Brabus keeps charging ahead. To save stress and fuel, fifth gear is summoned relatively early, but there is still so much oomph on tap that this maximum Merc doesn't run into an invisible wall until an indicated 202 mph, which is all the relatively short 2.65:1 axle permits.

Unfortunately, no Bullits will be officially sold in the U.S. For those who are so inclined, the asking price will be around $587,000 and up. But if you're a millionaire looking for an outrageously fun toy, this car's for you.

Ford hits 1 million miles on EcoBoost test engines

Word has recently come out of Dearborn that Ford has racked up over a million test miles on it's soon to be released EcoBoost engines, in combined real world driving and in lab testing.

So far, a group of EcoBoost engines have logged over 12,000 hours on the dyno which represents 500,000 miles of consumer driving, according to Ford. The engines have gone through 20 different tests at maximum loads and speeds to test the reliability during simulated real-world conditions. The engines endured a thousand cold starts and many wide open throttle runs to test their durability, and Ford believes they performed exceptionally well

"EcoBoost is undergoing the durability and reliability tests that we put all Ford engines through, and the performance we are seeing shows that the 3.5L EcoBoost engine is a high-quality, top-performing engine that meets or exceeds all our reliability targets and is deserving of Ford's five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty," said Ford's Advanced Engine Design and Development manager Brett Hinds.

Ford engineers have spent a great deal of time using computer models to simulate wear and tear on the engines and components, as well as model the exact operations of the twin turbos and direct injection to maximize efficiency.

"Because the 3.5L EcoBoost employs the latest in injection and turbocharger thermal management technologies, our tests have shown that we have effectively eliminated the legacy concerns sometimes associated with these systems, including high-mileage combustion deposits on the injectors and turbo bearing coking," said Hinds.

Out on the roads of the real world, Ford has been running a fleet of EcoBoosted Flexs and Lincoln MKS' at their Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Michigan, performing on-road tests including towing tests to determine the new power plant's actual in-car performance.

Ford has also run them around at high altitude in Denver, through the Arizona deserts and in the deep south to test the engine's performance in extreme conditions. The test fleet racked up another 500,000 miles of driving, bringing the tests to over one million combined miles.

"With the extensive dynamometer and vehicle-level durability testing we are subjecting this engine to, we are confident that the 3.5L EcoBoost engine is going to further strengthen Ford Motor Company's reputation for delivering reliable, high-quality engines," said Hinds.

It's comforting to hear that Ford is doing it's homework and ensuring that the EcoBoosted engines will not only be powerful and efficient, but reliable as well.

Now let's take one for a test drive already!

Featured Ride -Bryan Quinones 1981 Black Magic Mercury Capri

Mercury Capri's are a rare sight nowadays. Once the brethren to Ford's venerable Mustang, today they are a distant memory. Many have been raced, some have been "converted" to Mustang wannabes by affixing a Mustang front end to them. Such is pure sacrilege amongst the Capri faithful.

Make no mistake, the Capri faithful are alive and strong. There remains an almost a hero worship of the cars, and many favor them over Mustangs from the same era. They are celebrated for their more angular, muscular appearance.

Bryan Quinones' 1981 Capri is an even rarer sight to behold. That's because it is one of a handful of "Black Magic" cars, a special edition that Mercury produced in model years 1981-83.

The Black Magic brought with it some special appearance modifications. They were black cars with gold striping, gold metric TRX wheels and a gold cat's head on each side of the "nose piece" just ahead of the front fender. The interior received special black seats with gold inserts. The 1983 model is extremely rare and the only Black Magic to receive the compound rear window.

Bryan's Black Magic has quite an interesting history. Bryan first saw the car in a YouTube video, and at the time the car was owned by someone in Ohio. He had previously owned a 1982 5.0 Capri, and his son is restoring a 1985 bubble back Carpi, so he knew it was something special. Having been a fan of four eye cars for many years, he was immediately enamored with the Capri.

Later on down the road a man who lived in Bryan's home state of New York purchased the same car that he had seen in the video. The man was unable to hold on to the car for long, and had it listed on Ebay three months later. Bryan quickly realized that this was the same car he had seen on YouTube and jumped at the chance to buy it, working out a deal with the former owner.

Bryan has modified his Black Magic with some tasteful additions both under the hood and on the outside. The underwhelming stock motor has been replaced with a GT40 crate motor that churns it's power through a C4 automatic transmission and into a 3.55 geared posi traction rearend, with a 125 hp shot of nitrous for good measure. A racing tach helps to visualize the high revs.

On the outside, Bryan has fitted the Capri with some black Saleen replica wheels, 17x10" in the back and 17x8.5" in the front to give the car a nice intimidating stance.

Bryan's car has been featured in the reader's rides section of 5.0 magazine in 2002, as well as Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords in 2003.

Whether it be destiny or just plain good luck, Bryan has obtained the car of his dreams. He currently enjoys cruising to local car shows, where he is almost certain to have one of the most unique rides around.

AmericanMuscle.com has all the Mustang Parts you will need to spice up your 'Stang.