You can't beat my BMW Isetta though for proving there is always an exception. It overrevs if you try to exceed 38-40 MPH in 3rd gear. 4th (top gear) will take you to 54 mph. It matches your criteria, low power, 298 cc, 13 hp. If you've seen a rolling egg you know about wind resistance.
I think the majority of the time you see the phenomena beign talked about is when overdrive is involved. The drive train is geared to run up to to 1:1 ratio and then when you engage OD it is for economy not speed. Ken In a message dated 7/14/2005 9:25:19 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: Dan Weeks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [MBZ] Re: Top speed in what gear? To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Not at all uncommon at all. In a relatively low-powered engine, a higher gear can put you too far off the power peak to overcome wind resistance and other running friction at higher speeds, so you can achieve a higher speed in a lower gear. Downhill or in a stiff tailwind, you may be able to exceed the lower gear's top speed, but not on the level. Dan