The Flying Kestrel with a 900+ hp Inline-Five is Going for 200 mph
by Christopher Christopher
Published in engineswapdepot.com
The Flying Kestrel will attempt to break 200 mph later this year. For those unfamiliar with the project, it started in 2020 when Kestrel Beer tasked Webster Race Engineering with building a 1935 Riley Kestrel into a race car. For the powertrain they chose a turbocharged 2.5 L TFSI inline-five, sequential transmission, and Ford 9-inch rear end. The motor is capable of 992 hp (729 kW) and 753 lb-ft (1020 Nm) of torque. To prep for the 200 mph run, the team rebuilt the inline-five with new valves, +1 mm oversized JE pistons, and stronger head studs. They also swapped the previous transmission to a ZF 8HP70 eight-speed automatic transmission.
Source: @theflyingkestrel and Webster Race Engineering FB page