Cannonball Run record broken again in an Audi

[Steve Q]

Another Cannonball Record: 25 Hours, 39 Minutes from N.Y.C. to L.A.

The drivers who set the November 2019 Cannonball record have bested their own achievement with an average speed of 112 mph.

There's a new record in Cannonball land: Drivers Arne Toman and Doug Tabbutt announced today that they completed the cross-country drive from New York City to Los Angeles in 25 hours, 39 minutes, narrowly beating a claimed "sub-26-hour" record publicized in May and besting their own record of 27 hours, 25 minutes that was announced in November 2019.

Toman and Tabbutt's November attempt kicked off a spate of copycat record-chasers, many of whom took advantage of reduced traffic during COVID lockdown to set cross-country times that would seem impossible under normal driving conditions. An unnamed trio wedged a giant auxiliary fuel tank in the trunk of an Audi A8 and claimed a 26 hour, 38 minute record in April, and in June, Fred Ashmore took a rental Ford Mustang GT crammed full of fuel tanks to a 25 hour, 55 minute solo record. In a press release, Toman and Tabbutt claim that five new records have been set since their November 2019 run.

 

Toman and Tabbutt's most recent record seems to have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. In April, Toman's 2015 Mercedes E63—the highly modified car that set the record in November 2019—was badly damaged when a truck crashed into it while it was parked on the side of a highway. Toman replaced it with a 2016 Audi S6, quickly modifying it for Cannonball duty over the course of just a few days.

Cannonball Record-Setting Audi S6: 25 Hours 39 Minutes from NYC to LA

 

Vehicle modifications include a 45-gallon trunk-mounted fuel cell and visual changes, like a reshaped front grille with a decoy badge to make the Audi resemble a Ford Taurus-based Police Interceptor when viewed from a distance.

The record was set in early May. The drivers left NYC's Red Ball Garage—the traditional Cannonball starting point—at 6:00 p.m. to cover most of the Midwest at night. Toman claims that they were able to leave Manhattan in just four and a half minutes, and says that the entire trip required five fuel stops totaling 31 minutes. All in, the team claims a moving average speed of 112 mph, or 110 mph including fuel stops. Top speed reached on the run was 175 mph. The team says they were never stopped by police, thanks in part to a network of scouts coordinating with them.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a33656042/cannonball-record-broken-25-hours-39-minutes-from-nyc-to-la/