The Car
“I’ll always love my E39 M5, but in light of the lessons of Bolian’s 2013 run, it was clear that technology had moved past 144A’s ability – regardless of modification – to break 28:50. Also, everyone knows the car, and I couldn’t risk it being recognized by a cop who reads Jalopnik or watches /Drive. A long search ensued. I called upon everyone I trusted to help analyze the performance and fuel economy of every appropriate car. To quote the wonderful intro monologue from the video game Homeworld, ‘the clans were united…[this] would demand new technologies…and new sacrifices.’ Bolian and Black had set an incredible time. An incredible car was needed. An utterly innocuous-looking car. A car that would become the ultimate Q-car for a new generation. And I found it in Polizei 144i: a highly modified 2014 Infiniti Q50, unquestionably the finest illegal cross-country race car ever constructed.”

“Clearly, anyone who knows me knows that, whatever I do, good, bad, home, work, in, out, I must go all the way. Since going sober (Roy entered a program two years ago and achieved sobriety, much to my relief and the relief of others) and finding my faith, I recommitted to setting a new bar. Adding a second steering position and GT-R driveline to the Q50, well, that was just the beginning.

A short but incomplete list of upgrades & extra equipment. Bold indicates first-use on a cross-country record run:

Driveline Swap-out w/2014 Nissan GT-R
654 Horsepower on Mild Tune, 850+ on Full Boost
55 Gallon Fuel Cell for Total 75 Gallon E85 Capacity w/Twin Feeds
Range: 1000-1200 miles
Duplicate Steering Wheel/Pedal Set in Front Passenger Seat For On-The-Fly Driver Swaps
Custom Ceiling-Mounted, Electrically-Actuated, Gyro-Stabilized Observation System w/Roof Pass-Through, including Helmet w/FLIR & LL Overlay to Optics For Rear Passenger
Custom Magnetorheological Self-Leveling Suspension System
Brembo Carbon Ceramic brakes
3x FLIR Night Vision cameras
4x Low-Light Video Cameras
2x Vertex Air-to-Ground Radios
1x Aircraft Proximity Warning System
3x Valentine 1 Radar/Laser Detectors
1x Custom-Built Laser Diffuser/Jammer System (Front/Rear)
5x Garmin GPS Units with XM Traffic
4x iPhone 6 Cradles & Chargers
2x iPad Air Cradles & Chargers
2x iPad Mini 3 Cradles & Chargers
3x Satellite Tracking Devices
2x Uniden Police Scanners w/External Antennas
2x Uniden CB Radio
2x Chemical Smoke Generators
Radar-Absorbent Paint
Anti-Laser Headlight Coating

“For the record, the car is owned, registered and insured through an offshore company in the Channel Islands whose shareholders must remain anonymous, for obvious reasons. It will, however, be on display at several auto shows this year, starting with the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance on May 30th. It will also be participating in the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in late June. Maybe.”

The Second Steering Wheel & Driving Position
“I was always a fan of the six-wheeled Tyrell F1 car. I’m also a fan of the McLaren F1. In my dreams I had a vision of a third seating position dead center in the rear seat of the whatever car was to replace 144A. I also had a dream of installing TWO extra steering wheels, allowing for any one of the three team members to take over driving without having to stop the car. This required a car with both A LOT of extra room (i.e. width) for the third, rear-mounted driving position, and a full steering-by-wire system. Given the difficulty in finding a car with both, I settled on two driving positions. The only cars available with steering-by-wire were a Porsche 911 and the Infiniti. As soon as I learned that a GT-R drivetrain would fit in a Q50, the choice was clear. No one at Nissan Japan believed me when AI Design, my Westchester-based installer, tried to buy the second steering system. I even got on the phone and tried to explain why we needed it. Sadly, my Japanese is limited, so I had to buy the system from a salvage car.”