Back in April 2018, a 2,000-horsepower mashup of a sports car and a compact crossover set a record for fastest SUV at the V-Max 200...and it was freakin' awesome.
United Kingdom-based Severn Valley Motorsport (SVM) spent years creating a high-performance Frankenstein that crammed a Nissan GT-R drivetrain under a Nissan Qashqai crossover (sold in the U.S. as the Nissan Rogue Sport). At the 2018 V-Max 200, this unique creation hit a top speed of 237.6 MPH, setting a record for fastest SUV.
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The so-called Qashqai-R started in 2012 at JUST 850 horsepower, but over the years, SVM more than doubled that to its current rating of 2,000 horsepower! This smaller and lighter creation beat out an equally powered Toyota Land Cruiser for this top spot.
To get the GT-R's V-6 to crank out that kind of power, SVM slapped on a pair of massive turbos from Extreme Turbo Systems, high-performance injectors, and a remapped computer. The engine is backed by a transmission capable of handling that kind of power, and a KW Suspension to keep the Qashqai-R planted to the ground.
At the 2018 event, SVM's Nissan Qashqai-R was outdone only by a Koenigsegg Agera RSN that hit a top speed of 242.43 MPH, which sits at the top of the V-Max 200 all-time speed list. On the event's all-time list, this Nissan is third overall behind the second-fastest 240-mph Koenigsegg One:1.
That's some impressive company!
This post was originally published on August 26, 2019.
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