The drivers who set the Cannonball record in November 2019 beat their own feat with a speed of 112 mph.
There’s a new record in Cannonball land: Drivers Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt announced that they had finished the New York-to-Los Angeles adventure in 25 hours and 39 minutes, narrowly beating an alleged “under 26 hours” record released. in May and breaking his own record of 27 hours and 25 minutes announced in November 2019.
Toman and Tabbutt’s November attempt introduced a number of copycat record-breakers, many of whom took advantage of the reduced traffic and COVID lockdown to set cross-country times that would appear more unlikely under general driving conditions. An unnamed trio put a giant auxiliary fuel tank in the trunk of an Audi A8 and set a record of 26 hours and 38 minutes in April, and in June Fred Ashmore drove a rental Ford Mustang GT complete with tanks. fuel at 25 hours, solo record of 55 minutes. In a press release, Toman and Tabbutt say that five new records have been set since their execution in November 2019.
Toman and Tabbutt’s recent record high appears to have been an impulsive resolution of the moment. In April, Toman’s 2015 Mercedes E63, the highly changed car that set the record in November 2019, broke down when a truck collided with it while it was parked on the edge of a road. Toman replaced it with a 2016 Audi S6, temporarily modifying it for Cannonball service in just a few days.
Modifications to the vehicle come with a 45-gallon trunk-mounted fuel engine and visual changes, such as a redesigned grille with a decoy badge to make the Audi look like a Ford Taurus police interceptor from a distance.
The record was set in early May. The drivers left New York’s Red Ball Garage, the classic Cannonball starting point, at 6 p. m. at the top of the Midwest canopy at night. Toman says they were able to get out of Manhattan in just 4 minutes and a component, and says the entire vacation required five fuel stops for a total of 31 minutes. Overall, the team claims a moving average speed of 112 mph, or 110 mph, adding fuel stops. The top speed the race reached was 175 mph. The team says they have never been arrested by the police, in part thanks to a network of boy scouts coordinated with them.