A LIMITED edition sports car that was modified so it could be used in a 300mph world record attempt in America was clocked at 127mph on a Perthshire road, Perth Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Richard Billings (45), of Huntington, England, was found guilty after trial of driving dangerously and at excessive speed while travelling south on the M90 at Junction Five, Gairneybridge.

In denying the charge, the businessman had claimed that the accelerator pedal on the Ford GT had got stuck.

Had he not managed to free the pedal with his foot, Billings told the court, the £125,000 American car with a custom-fitted supercharger would have reached a staggering 250mph on the Perth to Edinburgh dual carriageway.

He said that he had contemplated deliberately driving the car off the road to avoid ploughing into the back of traffic he was fast approaching.

By finding him guilty, however, Sheriff Michael Fletcher did not accept his explanation and asked, “How did it get to 127mph in the first place?”

Sentence was deferred to February 24 for Billings to produce his driving licence.

Billings told the court there are only 28 Ford GTs in the UK and he had a £10,000 supercharger fitted, which makes it accelerate faster.

He said he is to be involved in a 300mph world record attempt with another car and that was why the modification was made.

His vehicle would follow the car trying to break the world record to provide assistance if needed.

The new supercharger needed to be “run in,” which Billings was doing on a business trip to Aberdeen.

He said, “I was coming into Aberdeen when I started to hear a grinding noise. I phoned the technical director and he said that if I heard it again I should take my foot off the accelerator then put it down very quickly to ascertain if the noise was coming when accelerating or decelerating.

“I was on the M90 when I got the noise again, perhaps louder this time. I took my foot right off the accelerator and then pushed it down again very quickly, before taking my foot back off. But the pedal stayed flat down.

“The car was still accelerating very quickly so I started flicking the pedal up with my foot to try and free it.

“The car was going faster and faster then all of a sudden it released itself.”

Billings pointed out that to have used the break or clutch would have meant the car crashing.

He added, “I was contemplating crashing into a barrier or the side of the road because I was coming up quickly on the traffic in front.

“I haven’t broken the law intentionally and I can’t see what I’ve done wrong. The experts would say I did everything right.”

The court heard that Billings was allowed to drive off by police officers but the engine “blew” near Peterborough.

The engineer responsible for maintaining the car David Jones stated Billings’ version of events was “perfectly possible” having inspected the engine.

Sheriff Fletcher described the possibilities of what could have happened on the M90 as “quite horrendous.”

Vascar equipment on the Gairneybridge flyover had clocked Billings driving at nearly twice the speed limit.