Dressed in white coveralls and wearing a crash helmet, Gary Le Fever, 70, sat gripping the wheel of his 1921 Model T speedster. Before him loomed a 475-foot-tall hill that in Evansville, Ind. passes as a mountain. He revved his engine, waiting for the climbing contest to begin. Competing with him were other vintage racers and, at FORBES' request, a 2003 Hummer H2.
Le Fever's speedster had 100hp, rather than the Model T's customary 20. Its transmission, wheels, chassis, frame and radiator all came from 1921. But it also had some non-original parts, including Model A cranks and rods, an overhead valve unit built for 1920s dirt-track racing and dual carburetors from the 1930s.
When the flag dropped, Le Fever punched both feet to the floor. He crossed the finish line in 9.96 seconds. Later the Hummer had its turn: 10.74.
How? Why? Weight has much to do with it. The 316hp Hummer weighs twice as much per unit of power. Not only did the Model T beat the Hummer, it beat every other comer, including a modern turbocharged Dodge diesel and the county sheriff's patrol car.
The Hummer's driver was none too pleased. "If you gave it another 1,000 feet, it would be a different story," groused Thomas Effinger II. His father, the H2's owner, had driven a Model T when a kid. "Like a mule to an airplane," says the elder Effiinger of the H2's superiority. Except the mule kicked butt.
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0813/112a.html
Le Fever's speedster had 100hp, rather than the Model T's customary 20. Its transmission, wheels, chassis, frame and radiator all came from 1921. But it also had some non-original parts, including Model A cranks and rods, an overhead valve unit built for 1920s dirt-track racing and dual carburetors from the 1930s.
When the flag dropped, Le Fever punched both feet to the floor. He crossed the finish line in 9.96 seconds. Later the Hummer had its turn: 10.74.
How? Why? Weight has much to do with it. The 316hp Hummer weighs twice as much per unit of power. Not only did the Model T beat the Hummer, it beat every other comer, including a modern turbocharged Dodge diesel and the county sheriff's patrol car.
The Hummer's driver was none too pleased. "If you gave it another 1,000 feet, it would be a different story," groused Thomas Effinger II. His father, the H2's owner, had driven a Model T when a kid. "Like a mule to an airplane," says the elder Effiinger of the H2's superiority. Except the mule kicked butt.
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0813/112a.html
Comment