If we're branching out into personal reminisces of V(max) attained...
...back in 1984, when working for my Dad in Germany that summer and fall, I tried out the max of my 1953 Volvo PV 444 ES on a stretch of no-speed-limit Autobahn. (The car was -- is -- pretty heavily customised, among other things with VDO instruments, so I'm assuming it showed rather accurate numbers.) Got to 160 km/h (=100 mph), but only held it for a very brief moment: 1950's-era chassi technology and skinny old tyres made for horrendously scary side-wind sensitivity; I was juggling the steering wheel like crazy just to stay in my lane, but probably meandered around like the Neander river.
Much later, in 2007, I rented a then-current Audi A6 in Sweden and indulged in a bit of speeding on the motorway. The car could probably have done a lot more, but I lifted off at 170; stable as a train. And then in 2012, on vacation in the south of France, quite unintentionally I noticed that I was doing 180 on the Autoroute... In a big top-heavy "compact crossover" (I think would be the American classification) Peugeot 5008.
Cars have improved immensely in just six decades.
Much later, in 2007, I rented a then-current Audi A6 in Sweden and indulged in a bit of speeding on the motorway. The car could probably have done a lot more, but I lifted off at 170; stable as a train. And then in 2012, on vacation in the south of France, quite unintentionally I noticed that I was doing 180 on the Autoroute... In a big top-heavy "compact crossover" (I think would be the American classification) Peugeot 5008.
Cars have improved immensely in just six decades.
