[moe.ron]

LONDON (Reuters) - A British man accused by police of driving at 115 mph in a Fiat Punto thought the accusation so ridiculous he enlisted an expert driver to help prove his new car was incapable of going that fast.
Law student Steve Lucas, who risked a large fine and losing his driving license if convicted of being so far over the 70 mph limit, said his small Fiat hatchback was just too slow to have reached such a speed, British newspapers reported Saturday.

"I was happy to put my hands up and admit that I was driving at 85 mph but the idea that my little Fiat Punto 1.2 liter could manage 115 mph was laughable," he was quoted as saying.

Lucas spent 18 months fighting the charges, hiring a traffic consultant to test drive his Punto on a private racecourse. He found the best the car could manage, going downhill with a following wind, was 104 mph.

Police were finally forced to drop the speeding charges, although Lucas was fined $70 for driving without due care and attention.