Video: what it looks like to go from 0-316mph in 4 seconds
What you're about to see is a top fuel dragster launch down the quarter mile, filmed from a driver's perspective. Prepare to see the world blur!
Top Fuel Dragsters represent something that is both tremendously exciting, and utterly terrifying all at the same time. For they are by far a way the fastest accelerating vehicles on planet earth. There exists no plane, rocket, or alien spacecraft that can transport a human being from zero-to-screaming in a shorter period of time.
Credit: hotrod.com
These machines frequently hit over 300mph during a 1/4 mile, which takes around 4 seconds. Personally, I imagine the violent force of the acceleration would be agonising at this pace. But while many of us will never get the chance to know for certain just how crushing it is, thanks to the video provided in this article, we can find out what that speed looks like from a driver’s perspective.
In the video below (fast forward to 1 minute 40 for the start), we see a dragster fly down the 1/4 mile in 4 seconds, in which time, it achieves 316mph. To give you an idea of just how fast that is, imagine for a moment you were to race it in a Koenigsegg Agera RS - the fastest production car in the world. Rather than running from a standing start in the Agera however, you cross the start line travelling at 220mph before pushing your foot hard down. And guess what: the dragster would still beat you to the 1/4 mile!
While the above video is a fairly normal occurrence in the world of top fuel drag racing, it still gives a mesmerising example of what it actually looks like to be shot down a drag strip by these barely containable monsters. Be sure to let me know what you think about it in the comments.
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Comments (4)
Really can't see the point of drag racing. Each to their own I suppose.
0-316 in 2:11 that's not brilliant
Copied the YouTube link from a few seconds before the start too, and it still didn't work. Darn it!
Top fuel doesn't run a quarter mile, they only go to 1000ft, and 4 seconds is not really competitive for a top fuel dragster