Land Speed Car With Homemade V12 Sounds Silly on the Dyno
The custom V12 revs to 12,000 rpm and could make as much as 800 horsepower.
Pete Aardema and Kevin Braun build custom racing engines in San Diego, California and their latest creation is a 6.0-liter V12 that's being prepared to go hunting for land speed records. While Aardema Braun won't disclose power figures just yet, they recently brought the land speed racer to a dyno and its homemade V12 sounds nutty.
The block and cylinder heads were custom designed by Braun, who bought older, used NASCAR and IndyCar engines, broke them down, and studied their designs and technologies. Then, using 3D-printing, he was able to create templates with which to create the new racing engine. Both Braun and Aardema admit that their tech is probably years behind what NASCAR and IndyCar are doing now but even old racing tech is more than enough for their homemade V12.
Once all of the components were individually made, a custom crankshaft and pistons were made for it. Aardema and Braun estimate that the naturally aspirated V12 will rev to about 12,000 rpm and should make between 750-800 peak horsepower. Dyno results will be revealed at a later date.
On the dyno, the Aardema Braun V12 sounds violent but unique. It idles pretty high but has a deep, burbly sound, almost like a NASCAR V8. But it revs higher than a NASCAR engine, so it makes the sort of high-rpm wail that you hear from IndyCar engines, just not quite as high-pitched as those small-displacement V6s. It isn't as exotic sounding as something like Cosworth's 12,000 rpm V12 in the GMA T.50 but it still sounds awesome.
This engine is mounted in a custom tubular frame chassis, with a super long wheelbase, and it seems to be paired with some sort of sequential manual gearbox. Aside from its engine size and estimated power, there aren't any other specs provided by Aardema Braun. Cal Rothe will be driving this V12-powered missile in the first 2023 Bonneville Speed Week event on May 20, at the El Mirage Lakebed in California.
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