This is the lead battle blasting through Stavelot during the early hours of the 1976 Spa 24 Hours. Averaging speeds of 200 kph, a trio of BMW CSLs scream through the uphill, banked turn.
Is 263.4 kph, or 163.7 mph, the maximum speed of a new twin-turbo V12 people-carrier? The speed of a motorcyclist when caught on a British motorway by police camera (true!)?
Neither. The figures date back to 1973 and refer to the fastest timed lap ever recorded at the “long” Spa circuit. It was set up by Jacky Ickx during qualifying for that year’s 1000K race when he was at the wheel of a Ferrari 312PB prototype.
