The things we would do to test a Pagani Zonda…..and get paid to do it. The guys over at Top Gear got their hands on a Pagani Zonda and graciously made a wonderful review video of their experience. Check out the video below.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJZe_vXfHE]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AafxlA-Qkt0]

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsnNnzrQ7Qc]

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(from Ultima Press Release)  BRITISH ULTIMA GTR WIPES OUT SCHUMACHER’S FERRARI FXX TOP GEAR LAP TIME

British supercar manufacturers and multiple world speed record holders Ultima Sports Ltd have this week smashed Michael Schumacher’s £1million Ferrari FXX track car lap record on the circuit as used by Top Gear TV with their Ultima GTR720 road car.

The Ultima GTR720 recorded a blistering 1min 9.9secs lap time, which demolishes the previous record of 1min10.7secs set by seven-time world Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari FXX track car. To put things into perspective the Ultima is almost 10 seconds per lap faster than the fastest road car that Ferrari produces which is the renowned £450,000 Enzo.

The successful lap record attempt was independently timed, verified and recorded by Plans Motorsport using their GPS DL-1 data logging equipment. It wasn’t a test conducted by Top Gear TV themselves as the producers have seemingly ignored repeated requests to feature the British Ultima GTR to date.

Richard Marlow, Director of Ultima Sports Ltd commented:
“We are all absolutely thrilled with this lap record. I could see that the Formula 1 inspired Ferrari FXX looked supremely quick in the hands of Michael Schumacher, but I had every belief that it wasn’t a match for our legendary Ultima GTR720 road car. I wanted to prove a point from the minute I witnessed the Schuey lap time on TV but the top gear track was fully booked for several months. At the first available opportunity we took our Ultima GTR720 road car that has previously recorded a lap time of 1min12.8secs (see www.ultimasports.co.uk/Content.aspx?f=record8) and adjusted it to more of a track biased set up rather than road car settings in the same manner as Michael Schumacher’s track only non road legal Ferrari FXX. Our Ultima GTR720 road car stormed around the track at the kind of pace that would have placed it at the front of the grids in international GT racing, it was for sure a spectacle to behold. To better the lap time of the greatest driver of our generation in arguably the worlds most developed and expensive modern day track car is a perfect illustration of the sheer brilliance and mind blowing pace of our British Ultima GTR. Of course unlike the Ferrari FXX, which is not road legal, we were able to drive our road car back home afterwards. I would also like to clarify to everybody that our GTR720 will clear all speed humps and anybody whom doubts this fact is welcome to visit our factory so that we can demonstrate this to them first hand.”

Ted Marlow, Managing Director of Ultima Sports Ltd commented:
“Well what can I say? I have been driving Ultima’s now for over 25 years in hundreds of different Ultima cars with a huge range of different configurations and so I was pretty confident that the GTR720 would do the business.

The Enzo FXX is no ordinary Ferrari having been developed using Formula 1 technology and extensively tested by the 7 times Formula 1 world champion so to beat this lap time certainly proves the magnitude of our achievement.

The Ultima is a perfect illustration of the effectiveness of the KISS principle and enables us to offer an affordable supercar that can outrun the likes of Michael Schumacher in his own £1million Ferrari FXX track car. Simply put we have created automotive history by producing the worlds fastest all round road legal supercar and this new record together with our extensive catalogue of existing world speed records is unequivocal proof of the Ultima GTR’s engineering excellence. Ultima fans can rest assured in the knowledge that we still have significant room for lap time improvement in the future as there is always our 800hp variant to put through its paces yet, and of course the keys to our Ultima GTR720 are always available here for a certain Mr. Schumacher should he like a shot at improving our new lap time record further still………”

The Ultima GTR720 is a fully road going production car with standard features such as air conditioning, stereo system and sealed luggage compartments etc and is often used as a daily driver. The car is equipped with a standard production 720bhp Chevrolet V8 engine option built specifically for Ultima by our OE engine suppliers American Speed.

What’s next? Well we are all very content and absolutely delighted here at the factory. Over the past several years we have set a catalogue of world beating times including several world speed records which remain unbeaten. We have superb worldwide demand for our product with full order books and this is where we will focus our time and effort by continuing to provide our existing loyal customers and new customers with a first class service. Previous testing has shown that we can also take the Nurburgring lap record with a road legal lap time somewhere in the region of 6mins30secs which sure is tempting to prove someday although there are no plans set as yet…..

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The Top Gear team has brought us another fun comparo, this time with two muscle cars.  One is the Vauxhall VXR8 Bathurst, a GM sport sedan that brings back memories of our short-lived G8 GXP; the other is the HSV Maloo R8, Australia’s most revered “ute” (pickup car).  Actually, both are reminiscent of the G8, since they are related.  In any case, we’ve lost a great rear-drive Pontiac here in the States–but maybe the Cruze’ll make up for it.

Maybe not.

Don’t be misled by the title.  Jay Leno made an honest appearance over at Top Gear‘s studio and took it upon himself to perform at the track.  Leno’s well-known as a car guy, but can he really compete against the likes of Brian Johnson of AC/DC?  The old rocker was as sharp as a scimitar on last week’s video.

America and Australia share a lot in common: besides being former British colonies, the people of these nations have an adventurous spirit–just think of the West and the Outback.  That spirit was given a boost in the 1960s when the muscle car quickly gripped Yankee, Canuck, and Aussie drivers.

The brawny atmosphere dithered away here in the US during the ’70s, but it was kept quite alive in the land down under.  Take a look at this TV promo for an Australian Charger, brought back to light from the guys at Top Gear Australia.

Thanks to both Rumblestrip and Banovsky for the videos.  These are frequent acquaintances in the blogosphere and discussion community.

AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson made his guest spot on Top Gear.  Johnson, an Englishman, took over the singing role for the Aussie rock band after Bon Scott died in 1980.  Johnson proved himself with hits like “Back in Black” and “Hell’s Bells.”  Johnson proved himself again to Top Gear when he revealed his hardcore car enthusiasm and track skills, as you’ll see in this video.