Perhaps we sound like a broken record in saying it, but we’re pretty convinced that the racers in Australia just know how to do everything with a little more flash and, dare we say, even an extra degree fortitude than the drag racers in other countries—the United States included. Beyond boasting some of the last quarter-mile nitro racing left in the world and some of the baddest Pro 

Modified-style cars in existence to boot, they’re not afraid to give anything a try at least once; short wheelbase, big motors, little motors with big power adders, all the way to the quarter-mile mark and beyond—they’re down for anything. But the one thing the country hasn’t been able to claim, at least until now, was a six-second run by a drag radial-equipped, full-bodied vehicle.

This week, APSA racer Daniel “Pazzo” Nunziante took his short wheelbase Cortina, which packs a big blown, twin-turbo Ford powerplant backed by a Gen 2 ProTorque converter, into the six-second zone at well over 200 miles per hour at the Sydney Dragway, becoming the first and only racer in Australia to do the deed.

As most would agree, this is about the laziest launch you’ll ever see by a 3,200-plus pound door car that’s about to post a sub seven-second run, with a sputter out of the gate to the tune of a 1.31 short time. The half track elapsed time wasn’t a whole lot more impressive, tripping the clocks in just 4.698-seconds at 175.78 miles per hour, but from there, Nunziante was moving out like the Beverly Hillbillies, picking the front wheels up as it turned a 2.19 back half and scorched to a 222.84 mile per hour speed in 6.893-seconds. Unfortunately for Nunziante, the power was there but the parachutes were not, sending him off the end of the track into the sand. We’d imagine a few hours picking pea gravel out of the nooks and crannies of the race car is worth it for that time slip, though.

Suffice it to say, if Nunziante and company can get that little monster through the front half of the track anything like it runs out the back, look the heck out!

Video credit: Fast Performance Videos