For the majority of Mustang enthusiasts, top end speed is really not that important. If it was all of us would still be runnin’ around with 2.73 gears out back. If we were all after top speed all of our Mustangs would be wearing front splitters…well, except for mine because I would run over something and rip it off, but I digress. Most of us are after ¼-mile performance so we leave the top end stuff to other makes. Spectre is one company that thinks top end speed is very important. Find out what it’s doing to rewrite the record books after the jump.  

Spectre has named legendary landspeed racer Kenny Hoover as the driver of the company’s BGS (Blown Gas Streamliner) class streamliner, a historic vehicle that Spectre hopes to set a landspeed record with at over 400 MPH at this year’s Speed Week competition at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats.

Kenny Hoover is among the most experienced land speed drivers on the planet. He is a member of one of the most elite speed clubs in the world – the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. It is said that more men have landed on the moon than are members of the 200 MPH Club. In addition, Hoover is also a member of the Club’s 300 MPH Chapter – a real force to be reckoned with, this guy, and an undisputed powerhouse on the ‘Speed by Spectre’ team. Having either set or broken 36 land speed records in his driving career over the past four decades, Kenny Hoover is among the most respected land speed drivers to ever compete, and team ‘Speed by Spectre’ is honored to announce him as the driver of this historic streamliner.

The Spectre SpeedLiner is finalizing its transformation into a land speed record liner now at Performance Fabrication in northern California. This beautiful 500 cubic-inch Cadillac V8-powered piece of machinery is twin turbocharged and makes approximately 1600 horsepower, fed through a Liberty 5-speed manual transmission and a custom-built quick-change differential. With the car expected to exceed 400 MPH, new wheels to handle the new tires are being made, along with new added coolers and water tanks to support the turbos. Aesthetically, the streamliner has shaved several inches off her waist – 13 to be exact – to a sexy 29 inches wide. Her finished length is expected to stretch from 23’ to a svelt 33’ with a chassis stretched 24,” wheels moved 6” forward and the nose moved up approximately 18” for a sleek front stretch of 48”. The rear section of the SpeedLiner is now rounded and smoothed out like the front, and stretched about 24” – a change that, together with the redesign this piece of speed machinery look like a silver bullet from hell ready to take the salt…

Amir Rosenbaum, Founder of Speed By Spectre, explained their land speed efforts by saying, “Working hard to squeeze every bit of speed and performance out of whatever it is we had at the time is what drove us 25 years ago, and what continues to motivate us today.” He continued, “The SpeedLiner is an extension of that drive, and the realization of a personal dream of mine. Ideally, I want to go over 400 in the SpeedLiner. According to the SCTA Record Book, only 3 guys in the world have ever done over 400 MPH, and they were in turbine vehicles or blown and Nitro fueled streamliners. No one’s over done over 400 in a blown gasoline powered streamliner – yet! First step is to break the BGS class record of 352.25 MPH…and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Spectre’s 25th Anniversary this year.”
 
Spectre manufactures ‘Speed By Spectre’ performance products and is celebrating 25 years in 2008. Check them out at www.speedbyspectre.com.