New speedway lets drivers test their vehicles’ capacity for speed

Lisha Van Nieuwenhove

A new venue is opening up in the township that will enable drivers to assess whether their cars really do go as fast as they say they do.

“Take it to the Limit” is taking an unused gravel pit (company owners asked that the exact location not be released until just before their grand opening on April 1) and turning it into a speedway, of sorts.

“We want to provide car consumers with a safe place to test their cars and see if they really got what they paid for,” says Raine Jarover, a former Formula One racer and one of a team of four women who are opening “Take it to the Limit.”

Most mid-range passenger vehicles made nowadays have speedometers that show a car or truck as being able to reach between 190 km/h to 240 km/h. Industry experts suggest that this is, in part, because the inclusion of high numbers on a speedometer serve a subtle but effective purpose in the vehicle’s marketing and psychological appeal.

"A high maximum speed suggests a degree of performance, capability, and engineering prowess, even if the car is not designed to ever reach that speed,” says Liam Cope at engineerfix.com. "For the average buyer, seeing a 225 km/h dial provides a psychological benefit, implying that the vehicle possesses untapped potential and is not merely a utilitarian appliance.”

Cosmos publisher Lisha Van Nieuwenhove at the wheel of her Hyundai Elantra N, ready to test its speed limitations at “Take it to the Limit”.

That’s not good enough for Fast Women, the team bringing “Take it to the Limit” to town.

“We feel like that’s a total rip-off,” says Tess La. La, a former F1 pit crew data analyst, says she thinks that passenger cars and trucks should be capable of what they say they can do.

“Don’t advertise what you ain’t sellin’,” exclaims La. “If a car says it goes 240 km/h, we want to make sure it hits 240 km/h. That’s why we all became Fast Women in the first place. We were tired of gettin’ in these cars that look like they go all fast ’n stuff - kinda like your car (referring to this reporter’s vehicle, a Hyundai Elantra N series) - and they never topped out where they were supposed to. That really ticked us off! We feel the need for speed, and we buy our cars to fill that need! And when that need ain’t met… well. That’s why we’re here.”

La and her colleagues, Jarover, along with Minnie Cooper and Lynne Cohn, decided they wanted an open space to test drive the vehicles they were considering buying. They didn’t find an open space that suited their needs, so together they purchased a former gravel pit, and are having it structured to their specifications. These include: a three-kilometre long straightaway, a curvy roadway that can test tire grip, and an oval track, complete with banked turns to test vehicle stability at high speeds.

“I’m not as concerned about how fast my cars go as my friends here are,” says Lynne Cohn, who handles marketing for the group. “I’m more about how my car looks than how fast it goes. It’s all about the luxury for me. And let me tell you, some luxury cars can go pretty fast.”

“Who do they think they’re fooling?” asks Jarover. “Car manufacturers typically design speedometers to exceed a vehicle’s actual top speed. This supposedly provides a 'safety margin' and prevents the needle from constantly hitting the maximum reading during normal driving conditions, they say. Well, I say no way. If it says 190 (km/h), I want my needle to hit 190. Doesn’t mean I’m gonna, like, go that fast on the 401. But I’ll feel pretty darned good knowing my car could go that fast if I wanted it to.”

Part-owner Minnie Cooper has a particular interest in the performance of smaller road cars. She explains that the test track will offer much more than just an open space to test speedometres.

“Oh, we’ll have a station to do quick tire inspections and that, just to make sure the cars and stuff are safe enough to drive fast,” says Cooper.

“Take it to the Limit” will also feature a “drop in” lane that allows drivers to race from the top of an old gravel pit hill to the bottom, in order to pick up speed.

“It’ll be just like a roller coaster,” enthuses Cooper, “but in your very own car!”

“Take it to the Limit” hopes to be open next Wednesday, April 1, at noon, and will reveal its location then. Several celebrities will be on hand for the opening, say the Fast Women.

“The only ones we’ll tell you about are Roz Kelly (travelling demolition derby driver ‘Pinky’ Tuscadero from the hit series Happy Days), Sandra Bullock (from the movie Speed), and the Batmobile that’s always in your Santa Claus parades!

Ready, set - go! for April 1! Ha ha!

Editor’s note: the photograph used with this story was generated using AI and looks nothing like the original photo.