C7 Corvette Goes 53 MPH in Reverse, Sets New World Record
This C7 Corvette smashed the old record for fastest mile traveled in reverse by over 20 seconds.
We’ve all seen our fair share of movies and TV shows where criminals/heroes flip cars around and proceed to drive them in high speed in reverse, an always-interesting stunt that many of us have also likely thought about trying ourselves. Of course, we don’t expect vehicles to go very fast when traveling backwards, though it appears that some cars are capable of achieving higher speeds going in the wrong direction than others. That’s certainly the case with the C7 Corvette, at least, because a man named Scot Burner recently managed to set a new Guinness Book World Record by hitting 53 mph in reverse.
Behind the wheel of a C7 Corvette, Burner achieved this distinction at the National Corvette Museum‘s own track. The car had to be inspected by a third party prior to his attempt to ensure that he was playing by the rules, and he also obviously needed a proper surface – not a public road – to do so safely. Burner is not new to this sort of thing, however, as he’s been testing out various vehicles in this manner for three years now and documenting the results on his YouTube channel.
Burner eventually got the desire to break the world record for the fastest mile driven backwards, and he was able to find the support he needed to do so from NCM. Daniel Decker, the museum’s Vehicle Maintenance and Preservation Tech, was able to certify that the car was unmodified, while a land surveyor also had to inspect the track prior to the attempt to ensure that he wasn’t traveling downhill, which would obviously give him an advantage.
On his very first attempt, Burner was able to break the world record of 97.02 seconds by competing the mile in reverse in just 83.19 seconds. He followed that up with an even faster time of 75.18 seconds, which is a massive improvement by any standard. Burner averaged 45 mph and hit a top speed of 53 mph in the process, a truly impressive feat, particularly given the fact that this was the first time he had traveled more than a quarter-mile in reverse.
“We at the NCM Motorsports Park are honored to have had Scot attempt the Guinness World Record for the fastest reverse mile at our track. There is no better place in the world to achieve that honor in a Corvette than at the home of the Corvette,” said Greg Waldron, NCM Motorsports Park Executive Director.
Photos: National Corvette Museum
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