Filed under: Performance, Misc. Auto Shows, Middle East

This is the Devel Sixteen, and it might be the king of lofty statistics. Its Dubai-based backers are claiming it'll use a 5,000-horsepower V16 and will reach a top speed of 348 miles per hour. The sprint to 62 mph will take just 1.8 seconds. Sounds great, right? So, what's the problem?

Everything. To put in perspective the absurd engineering undertaking that would be this car, it's worth pointing out that it took Volkswagen, one of the world's largest automakers, years to reliably squeeze 1,000 horsepower from an 8.0-liter, quad-turbocharged W16 in the Bugatti Veyron, without requiring a Formula One-style engine teardown after each outing. It took several more years to generate an extra 200 horsepower, on top of that. Oh, and each Veyron was sold at a massive, multi-million-dollar loss.

Then there are the physics of traveling at 350 mph (at that speed, you're covering almost two football fields every second), and the fact that there are only a very small handful of places on the planet where those speeds are possible. But the problems are actually far more simple than that, as Emirates 24/7 points out - there are no road-legal tires available that can handle that speed.

Incredulity about its performance aside, we must say, this is a striking car. With no shortage of inspiration from the likes of the Lamborghini Veneno and Pagani Huayra on the exterior, and a healthy dose of Koenigsegg in the cabin, the Sixteen looks like the marriage of a Le Mans Prototype and a modern hypercar. Also, the back end looks like it has afterburners, which is awesome.

We love the idea of wild and crazy engineering projects as much as the next group of gearheads, but there's so much here that seems impossible that it's hard to view the Devel Sixteen as anything more than an elaborate joke or ruse. Take a look below for a walk-around of the car from Shmee150.

Continue reading Devel Sixteen debuts in Dubai with alleged 5,000 hp and 350-mph top speed

Devel Sixteen debuts in Dubai with alleged 5,000 hp and 350-mph top speed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Nov 2013 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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5,000HP?

Top fuel dragsters make close to 4,000HP but they shred themselves apart just running a 1/4 mile.

Sorry, that ain't happening.