Camping for those in a hurry
09/14/2025
The fastest sedan in the world is naturally only allowed to tow the fastest trailers in the world. So, shortly after taking delivery of his new Maserati Quattroporte in 1965, Alberto Barbieri, co-founder and CEO of the Italian caravan manufacturer ARCA, hitched up a caravan of his own production and put the pedal to the metal.
Measured by the Italian timekeeping association FICr and recognized by the Italian Automobile Sports Commission CSAI, Barbieri reached a speed of 170.940 kilometers per hour on a section of the Autostrada del Sole north of Rome. With the exception of the tires on the trailer, the combination corresponded to the delivery condition. The towing vehicle could have gone even faster, but the rubber torsion springs of the ARCA 900 were not up to the speed.
Incidentally, the English record mentioned in the Italian newspaper article was already out of date. The year before, it had been increased to 164.475 km/h by a Jensen C-V8 and a Sprite Musketeer. The current record has stood since 2012, when a Carson Kalispell was accelerated to 228.523 kilometers per hour by a 1004 hp GMC Sierra.
