31h 04m coast-to-coast cannonball run

[Mike Oxlong]

http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/magazine/15-11/ff_cannonballrun

Good story. A couple questions:

Been done in Japan? North to south Honshu? If not, could it be done? Who's gearing up?

[Mr Doricar]

I'm in.... 100%

Shall we?

I've often thought what would be the ideal Gumball car. In my opinion... R34 GTT 4 door with RB26 approx 500bhp, but replace the passenger seat with a bed so the passenger can get some sleep and then do the driving / sleeping in shifts.

[Mike Oxlong]

...replace the passenger seat with a bed so the passenger can get some sleep and then do the driving / sleeping in shifts.

I dunno, I got the impression from the article that the role of navigator/spotter was essential for success. If the dude (or dudette) was passed out catching a few z's, the driver could easily miss noticing a speed-trap on the radar or GPS, or be unable to locate where the police threat is in time to avoid it. Sleep should also be less of an issue doing a cannonball run in Japan, being a much shorter distance.

[FG Lurker]

I've often thought what would be the ideal Gumball car. In my opinion... R34 GTT 4 door with RB26 approx 500bhp, but replace the passenger seat with a bed so the passenger can get some sleep and then do the driving / sleeping in shifts.

Reliability and a decent level of comfort are more important than raw power in a race like this. The M5 used recently in the US is probably ideal -- enough power, good reliability, and a reasonable level of comfort.

I think this sort of race in Japan is still doable as the level of policing here is quite low compared to the US and Canada. However even a run of the length of Honshu is too short to be much of a challenge, unfortunately.

[Mike Oxlong]

I think this sort of race in Japan is still doable as the level of policing here is quite low compared to the US and Canada. However even a run of the length of Honshu is too short to be much of a challenge, unfortunately.

I agree with the level of policing being relatively low, but I wonder about traffic congestion (especially stark raving mad truck drivers) being a major obstacle.

[Tsuru]

http://www.gumball3000.com/

This year they did London - Istanbul, and they have done San Francisco - Miami and London - London via St. Petersburg a few years back. Check it out.

If anyone can do an Aomori - Nagasaki or something and do it properly it's gotta be these guys.

[Charles]

Driving cross-country with the aid of spotters, including aircraft? What a wuss.

For some real action, check out the film "Rendez-vous." No spotters were used to film this flat-out drive through Paris at speeds up to 135MPH. Well actually, they had ONE spotter at a particularly dangerous spot, but his radio broke down so he doesn't count.

I now present to you, in its entirety, the film:

[YT]fLC3-BciWlk[/YT]

[FG Lurker]

I agree with the level of policing being relatively low, but I wonder about traffic congestion (especially stark raving mad truck drivers) being a major obstacle.

That's what the shoulders are for! (No?)

[climb678]

An amazing movie-thanks Charles!