It looks like our run at SpeedWeek is at an end, due to poor weather, ill-behaved parachutes and a beautiful run which had a very squirrelly slow down. We didn’t meet our ultimate goal of running 400mph, but we learned enough to know that we will be able to in the future. We may have met the limits of our parachute set-up, but we haven’t even come close to the limits of the engine, the aerodynamics or the driver (Amir did some serious driving to keep the big streamliner dirty side down).

We learned a lot this week, and we’re hardly leaving the salt flats empty handed. The SpeedLiner now boasts 2 unlimited licensed drivers and two 300mph Club blue hats. The car also set three speed records, including breaking our own unlimited blown gasoline streamliner record from 2009. The A/BGS was the first record to fall.

Last week the record was 286mph and Amir skipped the 200 club completely with a blistering 324mph average pass. That’s almost 40mph faster than the previous record. Less than 24 hours later we pushed the record even higher, to 356mph. In the end, we broke the existing A/BGS (under 500 cubic inch, blown gasoline streamliner) record by 70mph!

Competing in AA/BGS was a whirlwind of engine swaps and bad weather. Despite the challenges, Amir drove past the existing record of 330mph (which we set in October 2009 during the car’s debut run) and upped the number to to 348mph, with an exit speed of 366. Since exit speed is an average of the last ¼ mile, an exit speed of 366 means the speedliner entered at 364 and exited at 368, which is extremely close to the fastest speed ever recorded in a gasoline powered, wheel-driven car (370mph).

The entire Spectre team is also thrilled at how well our Spectre Performance products did in the most brutal conditions on earth. We’re proud to say we can run over 366mph, but we are even more excited that hpR filters can stand up to anything, even 20 pounds of wet salt being shoved into the airbox at speed.

Overall it was an incredible, exhausting, thrilling and sun-drenched week. The car performed admirably, and when you consider that many drivers in this, the last bastion of pure motorsport in America, chase colored hats their entire lives, we are grateful and thrilled that the car, team and driver were able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time with a relatively new car.

We’ll be back on the salt this year, with our eyes firmly set on breaking into one of the most exclusive clubs in history. In the meantime, keep checking the blog, as we have hard drives filled with photography and high def video – so the movies and content have only just begun.

We would also like to thank all those who made this possible: Steve Schmalz, the man with the plan from Performance Fabrication in San Carlos, California. His dedicated crew: Curt, Greg, Scott and Taylor. Courtney Hines and Chris from the Cad Company, who built the heart of the beast and knew from the beginning that a Cadillac could break world records.  Josh Held, who has put incredible sweat equity into this project. Ken Rappaport, who not only designed the tail section but also acted as our defacto team photographer. Last but certainly not least, Kenny Hoover: our inside man. We inherited Kenny with the project, and he has been our ambassador to the world of land speed racing since the beginning of the project. He was the first to drive the car, the first to break 300mph, helped us navigate the waters of SCTA rules and regulations and was – run after run – the first man to get to the car to help Amir out of the cockpit and get a rundown on how it went. Kenny is the heart of our team.

SpeedWeek is over, but we’ll be back, going faster, pushing harder and we will break the 400mph barrier. In the meantime, get ready for some great video.