On the last season of Top Gear, F1 Champ Michael Schumacher took the top of the list on the Top Gear lap times, completing the track with his personal Ferrari FXX in 1 minute, 10.7 seconds – nearly seven seconds faster than the next fastest car (Gumpert Apollo,) which is an incredible feat. British supercar maker Ultima was less than impressed, however, and bet their track-tuned (and street legal) GTR720 could beat the track-only FXX around the track.
Ultima claims that Top Gear producers have refused to allow them to test the Ultima GTR on the track, however, and had to take it upon themselves to rent some track time from McLaren to do their tests…
Ultima took their GTR720, a Chevy V8-powered 720 horsepower car to the Top Gear test track and had their own driver do a lap. The Ultima GTR720 demolished the $1.6 million Ferrari FXX, completing the lap in only 1 minute, 9.9 seconds. With Schumacher at the wheel, that number would be ever faster. To pour salt in the wounds, Ultima drove the GTR back to their factory after the test, something the not-street-legal Ferrari can’t do.
Considering the Ferrari’s $1.6 million price tag, the $49,000 Ultima’s victory is ever more impressive. The scary thing about this is the GTR720 isn’t even their fastest car. Ultima has an 800 hp GTR800 in the works, which I’m sure we’ll see more of in the near future.
Congrats on your victory Ultima, here’s hoping that Top Gear allows the GTR around its track soon.