1972 Eldorado runs Texas Mile

[Bruce Nunnally]

The Texas Mile is a 1-mile standing start acceleration contest. You start, and run flat out for 1 mile on an airport runway, and measure your speed at the end.

See official Texas Mile site: http://www.texasmile.net/

The event is wrapping up for 2010 today.

The only Cadillac result so far is a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado, run by Mike MacClanahan, which on its second run made 119.93 mph at the end of the run.

Keeping in mind that the 73 had a 3-speed automatic and the engine's low redline this is probably max speed for that car?

I imagine the 'feeling' of speed at 120 mph in the 72 Eldorado was as exciting as 200 mph in the Corvettes.

[coolnesss]

I had a '74 Eldorado convertible. Speeds in excess of 100mph in that car are just like 40mph - like riding on a cloud, effortless, indescribable.

[Texas Jim]

I had a '78 Biarittz.

Up to about 100/105 ...it was OK.

After that, it was a little too floaty for me to be very comfortable.

[Bruce Nunnally]

In 72 the Eldorado made like 220 hp net. With enough room I suppose it might go 135 mph flat out? I see that is the listed top speed for a 67 Toronado. Weight has little effect on top speed, just on how fast you get there. But the relatively low revving V8 and lack of gearing seem to work against the Eldo.

No indication if the car in question was stock or modified however.

[Texas Jim]

In 72 the Eldorado made like 220 hp net. With enough room I suppose it might go 135 mph flat out? I see that is the listed top speed for a 67 Toronado. Weight has little effect on top speed, just on how fast you get there. But the relatively low revving V8 and lack of gearing seem to work against the Eldo.

No indication if the car in question was stock or modified however.

Bruce,

On the "OTHER" forum, a guy with a 2009 "V" claims he just ran his yesterday.

But I don't see him in the "RESULTS" spreadsheet.

I was just a thinking a little while ago...

Wonder what mine would do in the mile?

hmmmm...may have to check and see what it would cost to run it a time or two....

[Bruce Nunnally]

The results are not updated for today's contestants yet. That seems a good speed for the automatic, which has a max velocity of 171 mph stock. Remembering that his car makes 556 hp it does give pause however about how fast one could go with 'only' a normally aspirated 4.6L. Henessey posted a claim last year to the record in the standing mile for a sedan at 185 mph with a V700+ CTS-V.

I have heard that a NS is good for around 155-160 mph flat out, but it is hard to get to that in a standing mile. The stock Deville will do the quartermile in around 15.2 sec at 95 mph. At 100 mph the next 3/4 of a mile go by in (0.75 miles / 100 mile/hour) x 60 min/hour = 3/4 of a minute, or 45 seconds. If one were able to accelerate at 10 mph / 10 seconds then one might hit 130-140 mph before jamming on the brakes to get stopped in the next 1/2 mile past the finish line.

Also suggests the 72 Eldo was moving along when you consider the standing mile as a separate problem from actual top speed and he made 120 mph.

[Jan Olsson]

The results are not updated for today's contestants yet. That seems a good speed for the automatic, which has a max velocity of 171 mph stock. Remembering that his car makes 556 hp it does give pause however about how fast one could go with 'only' a normally aspirated 4.6L. Henessey posted a claim last year to the record in the standing mile for a sedan at 185 mph with a V700+ CTS-V.

I have heard that a NS is good for around 155-160 mph flat out, but it is hard to get to that in a standing mile. The stock Deville will do the quartermile in around 15.2 sec at 95 mph. At 100 mph the next 3/4 of a mile go by in (0.75 miles / 100 mile/hour) x 60 min/hour = 3/4 of a minute, or 45 seconds. If one were able to accelerate at 10 mph / 10 seconds then one might hit 130-140 mph before jamming on the brakes to get stopped in the next 1/2 mile past the finish line.

Also suggests the 72 Eldo was moving along when you consider the standing mile as a separate problem from actual top speed and he made 120 mph.

The CarTest2000 software suggests a speed of 132 mph after a mile from a standing start and that seems like a reasonable speed judging from my own "tests"

For a 2002 STS that is..