Published: Jul 26, 2012

The 2012 CarBuzz Olympics Kick Off Today

The 2012 Olympic Games are only two days away. Get ready for the 30th Olympiad with the inaugural CarBuzz Olympics.

CarBuzz is celebrating the opening of the 30th Olympiad in London, England with a special feature doling out medals to automobiles that earn special distinction. The first part of this series measures current production models in terms of performance in several categories inspired by the Olympic Games. While the 2012 Olympics open their doors on July 27th, the CarBuzz Olympics begin today with the individual sports. Enjoy.

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100m Dash (fastest car from 0-100km/h): Gold (2.1 seconds) - Bugatti Veyron SuperSport (FRA); Silver (2.3 sec.) - Ariel Atom 500 (GBR); Bronze (2.7 sec.) - Koenigsegg Agera R (SWE) The Bugatti Veyron SuperSport is the undisputed Usain Bolt of ultra-fast production cars. The Ariel Atom 500 is Great Britain's pride-and-joy ultra-light and ultra-fast model on the market while the infamous Swede, the Koenigsegg Agera R, longingly hopes for a spot higher up on the podium.

The 2012 CarBuzz Olympics Kick Off Today

5,000m Run (fastest top speed): Gold (273mph) - Koenigsegg Agera R; Silver (272) - Hennessey Venom GT (USA); Bronze (267) - Bugatti Veyron Super Sport 5,000m is about 3 miles - the average distance it takes for a car to hit top speed. Sweden gets its gold medal as the 2013 Agera R can, theoretically, hit 273mph while the Hennessey Venom GT has the ability to reach 272mph. The Venom GT, based on the Lotus Exige, represents the U-S-of-A as if its British parents came to America and bore it. John Hennessey's custom-build is the new kid on the block. The Veyron SuperSport is the old master and shows its age in 2012.

Olympic Marathon (longest EV range): Gold (220 miles) - Tesla Roadster (USA); Silver (110 miles) - Peugeot iOn (FRA); Bronze (73 miles) - Nissan Leaf (JPN) There are plenty of electric cars in testing and developmental phases all over the world, but few are commercially available. Of those, these three stand out in terms of absolute range. America is well represented by the Tesla, the Peugeot iOn (also known as the Citroen C-Zero and Mitsubishi i-Miev) takes second place for France (even though it is technically built by Mitsubishi), while Japan holds its head up high with the Nissan Leaf - arguably the most versatile of the bunch.

Decathlon (cars that can handle the most abuse): Gold - Land Rover Defender (GBR); Silver - Jeep Wrangler (USA); Bronze - Mercedes G-Class (GER) The decathlon is undoubtedly the most grueling of events in the entire Olympiad and the gold medalist of this year's games will carry the distinction of being known as the "World's Greatest Athlete". The ten arduous track and field events include running at various distances with various obstacles, javelin and discus throwing, shot putting and the long and high jumps.

Only the most rugged and toughest models on the market compete and with England as the host country, the Land Rover Defender takes home the gold. It is followed by the iconic off-roading Jeep Wrangler and Mercedes with everlasting Gelandewagen.

Boxing (most powerful overall car): Gold (1,200hp at 6,500rpm) - Hennessey Venom GT (USA); Silver (1,200hp at 6,400rpm) - Bugatti Veyron SuperSport (FRA); Bronze (1,115hp at 6,900rpm) - Koenigsegg Agera R (SWE) Separated by rpm and top speed, the Hennessey Venom GT just edges out the Veyron SuperSport as the most powerful car on the market today. The Koenigsegg Agera R runs on two types of fuel, however even with race-spec gas it still doesn't break into the top two in terms of raw power.

by Phillip Harbor
The 2012 CarBuzz Olympics Kick Off Today

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The 2012 CarBuzz Olympics Kick Off Today

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