Skip to main content

All at sea

A Finnish man was recently clocked by the country's police driving a car at over 329km/h (205.48mph), in the Baltic Sea.
February 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A Finnish man was recently clocked by the country's police driving a car at over 329km/h (205.48mph), in the Baltic Sea. The man, a famous rally driver, drove a four-wheel-drive Bentley Continental Supersports convertible along a measured stretch of frozen sea to establish a new world ice driving speed record. Despite dangers from cross-winds and temperatures as low as -30°C, the driver was able to top his own previous record of 320km/h, which he set previously in a Bentley Continental GT. The four time world rally champion drove the lightly modified car along a 16.5km track set out on the 70cm thick ice to achieve the record, with speed measuring equipment set out by the Finland Traffic Police to establish the car's velocity. Two high speed runs were made in accordance with the regulations, to determine the average speed. The speed attempt was also monitored by officials to ensure that it met all the necessary criteria to be classed as an official record. The car was modified with winter tyres, a roll-cage, front and rear spoilers and a parachute to aid braking in emergencies. Apart from the tyres, the other features are not expected to become standard options for the Bentley range.

Related Content

  • Grave crime
    February 28, 2012
    A British man was sent to prison for four years after being stopped by police while he was in the process of stealing a JCB telehandler. In his attempts to elude following police, the man veered wildly along narrow roads with no thought for other road users. He then drove the telehandler through a graveyard, smashing headstones and damaging graves in his escape bid. This proved fruitless however as a police helicopter had joined the pursuit and was able to direct police cars towards the speeding JCB. The ma
  • Chinese compact
    February 24, 2015
    Traffic congestion and the cost of running a car have been pushing Chinese car manufacturers to think small. Electric scooters and motorcycles have long been popular and in the past several years more and more small electric cars are appearing on crowded urban roads. One popular three-wheeled electric vehicle has a large retractable bubble top, making it look like a futuristic car from a low-budget 1950s Hollywood movie. But the small Chinese car has got even smaller as well as less expensive, thanks to a 6
  • Police stop
    February 24, 2015
    A Russian police officer recently underwent an unwelcome adventure when he tried to stop a suspect vehicle. Officers wanted to stop the car for a routine check and had set up a roadblock with a police vehicle. But the driver knew he was committing an offence and used his car to shove the police vehicle out of the way and attempted to elude the policemen by driving off at speed. One officer however ended up clinging to the front of the car as it tried to flee from the police. The officer had to hold on for a
  • Driving on slicks at speed
    December 18, 2014
    Police in Poland managed to stop a 29 year old male driver after a 30km high speed pursuit. The BMW driver hit speeds as high as 260km/h (162.5mph) in his bid to elude his pursuers. When the traffic officers inspected the vehicle they realised the car’s rear tyres were so worn they had no tread remaining, and immediately impounded this dangerous vehicle along with arresting the offender. The man was from Krosno Odrzanskie in the west of Poland and close to the border with Germany.