This car blasted to 267mph thanks to homemade V12 engine
- A homemade engine set a new record after it hit speeds of more than 260mph
- Pete Aarmeda and Kevin Braun created the V-12 engine from scratch
- Boosted with nitrous oxide, the car was recorded doing 267mph
Published on Jul 22, 2024 at 7:39 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 22, 2024 at 7:18 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A couple of car enthusiasts from the US managed to hit speeds of more than 418km/h (260mph) with a homemade V-12 engine.
Yep, believe it or not, Pete Aardema and Kevin Braun – who work out of their San Diego auto shop – were able to push the homemade 6.0-liter, V-12 engine to a record-setting 267mph (429km/h) at El Mirage in San Bernadino Country, California.
The two men started on their build back in last year, after carefully studying and reworking old engines belonging to an old IndyCar and NASCAR.
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The duo used a 3D printer to help create their V-12 engine
Bringing things bang up to date, the duo then used a 3D printer to take the best parts of each engine to create a unique powertrain.
The V-12 is a bit of a Franken-engine, made using bespoke block and head units and a custom crankshaft.
The 6.0-liter can spin a whopping 11,000rpm and is further boosted by a 300 shot of nitrous oxide, which gives it a 1,200 horsepower, according to a clip shared on YouTube by Greg Quirin.
In the clip, driver Scott Goetz hopped behind the wheel to push the DIY engine to its limits as he raced along El Mirage.
These guys aren’t the only ones doing something interesting with a V-12 engine – Chuck Beck, a well-known petrolhead from Georgia, took one from a Lamborghini Espada and put it into his motorbike to create a vehicle quite unlike anything we’d seen before.
The car hit a top speed of 267mph
Back at El Mirage, Goetz can be seen pushing the car, complete with homemade engine, to hit a top speed of 267mph – thanks, in part, to that nitrous boost that kicked in around the 180mph mark.
Oh, and it sounds absolutely incredible.
The 1.3-mile stretch at El Mirage is made up of compacted silt, which could prove to be difficult driving conditions for some, but not for a pro like Goetz who handles the car like he’s simply taking it out on a standard trip around a racetrack.
The speed, which was recorded on June 9, 2024, beats the previous high speed set by the same engine.
Just days earlier, in May, racer Cal Rothe hit 244 mph, which broke the El Mirage record at the time.
“Congratulations Cal for bringing home another record. Hats off to the team and all the effort to make this thing happen,” Braun said in a post on social media.
What’s next for the duo – and their homemade V-12 – is not yet clear, but we can probably safely assume it’s going to be pretty fast.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
