The sound of the turbo revving was irresistible and we had to follow it to the source. Upon arriving at the scene, it took a minute to soak it all in. Ultimately, we realized we were gazing at Mike Warren’s carbureted twin turbo 1926 Ford Model-T coupe.

In fact, he’s working on the record to be The World’s Fastest Model-T Coupe.

A resident of Lobelville, TN, Mike is enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable, and has an infectious smile on his face.

He’s been a fan of shifting gears, loud pipes, burnouts, and dangerously fast speeds since he was a kid. When asked about his favorite car ever owned, he gives this list:

• 65 Plymouth Satellite
• 63 Corvette
• 74 SS Nova
• 77 Trans Am
• 62 Corvette
• 67 Camaro drag car
• 82 Z28
• 77 Monza Super Gas drag car
• 84 Corvette
• 34 Ford land speed car
• 30 Model-A sedan
• 30 Model-A coupe
• 26 World’s Fastest Model-T coupe

Pretty much ALL of his cars have been his favorite. Touché, Mike, touché.

His Model-T coupe turned race machine sports a short block 468 Chevy poached from a jet boat that had been sitting idle in a corner for over 30 years. Mike bought it from some guys who “spun a bearing and sold the boat” to him.

It sat for awhile longer before he took it out of idle mode and put two 70 millimeter turbos on homemade log manifolds and added an aeromotive belt drive fuel pump. The engine head is Brodix Race Rite, and the intake is Brodix as well.

The carburetor is an E85 by Horsepower Innovations and the transmission is done by Wayne Franks; PTC converter is by Lane in Muscle Shoals, AL. The exhaust is homebuilt in a stainless log style. The body of the car has a 4” section and chop and rides on Shockwaves by Air Ride Technology. The roof is also chopped 10.5″.

Air ride control is by Little Larry’s Four Play; wheels are steel welded 360 degrees with one-inch lug nuts. Hammerite gold is the chosen color, foam-rollered by Mike himself and lettered by Scoot from Nashville.

Inside you’ll find some cramped seating and five point harnesses – getting in and out for a full grown man is somewhat of an acrobatic feat. The electrical controls are on a Street & Strip panel done by Leash Electronics.

Most recently, Mike took the car to Wilmington, Ohio to try to get to 200 mph on the mile-long track. He got to 185 mph but had to slow down because his chute was not deploying.

Good news is, Mike still made the record for blown, non-gasoline competition coupe for their engine size. Optimist that he is, there will be a few tweaks done here and there and then it’s back out to the track for them!

We love the creativity, engineering, and sheer power of this car. We also love the fact that Mike loves to share about it, drives it hard, and even let us get inside.

Thanks Mike, we think The World’s Fastest Model-T Coupe is pretty awesome. We’ll be watching for you to hit 200 mph.