The Holden Commodore is in the record books despite going out of production nearly eight years ago, thanks to a trio of US speeders.
In a video uploaded to YouTube by VinWiki, Bronson Justice claims to have piloted a Chevrolet SS – the US-market version of our VF Holden Commodore – from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in under 24 hours.
Along with friends Christopher Michaels and Rob Spectre, they completed the circa-3760km journey in 23 hours and 35 minutes, claimed to be a new coast-to-coast record.
That means an average speed of just under 104mph (167km/h), well above the highest posted speed limit in the US of 85mph (137km/h).
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This was achieved despite the crew copping a speeding fine – having been clocked at 97mph (156km/h) in a 60mph (97km/h) zone while driving through Texas – and suffering from tyre delamination at high speed.
They claimed to have hit speeds of more than 270km/h, achieved thanks to the Chevy SS’s 6.2-litre V8 engine, which produced 309kW and 563Nm from the factory.
Of course, the record-setting car wasn’t stock, with the V8 fitted with a larger camshaft for more power, while it was also lowered, fitted with an extra 22 gallon (83 litre) fuel tank, a radar detector and a “bat cave” of computers in the rear.
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The record-claiming Chevrolet SS was fitted with the grille from a Holden Commodore
While it’s not the famed Cannonball Run – which starts in the Red Ball garage in New York and ends at the Portofino Hotel in California – this piece of Australian motoring history now holds a place in the automotive record books.
The Cannonball Run is significantly longer at 4677km, with the current record held by Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and spotter Dunadel Daryoush, who used an Audi S6 which was disguised to look like a Ford Taurus police car.
This record is likely to stand for years to come, as it was set in May 2020 amid COVID-19 lockdowns in the US.
