One of Prince's golden oldies summed up the case perfectly: "Little red Corvette/Baby, you're much too fast, yes you are."

As in, 178 miles per hour fast, on a county road in northern Minnesota last month.

The driver of the red Corvette, who was not identified, was the fastest to be busted by law enforcement officials during a statewide sweep against speeders conducted by Minnesota's law enforcement agencies throughout July.

"He wasn't actually clocked, but the passenger reported the speed -- my guess is she was pretty freaked out," said Nathan Bowie, a Department of Public Safety spokesman.

The driver was stopped by a Wadena County sheriff's deputy on July 9 while barrelling down a county road near the tiny town of Menahga.

(Corvettes can reach a top speed between 190 and 205 mph, according to Chevrolet and websites operated by fans of the car.)

The Corvette's driver was one of 26 ticketed in the state last month for driving over 100 mph -- an infraction that can lead to the revocation of a driver's license for six months.

An additional 227 were ticketed for driving between 90 mph and 100. All told statewide, 27,639 got tickets for speeding.

The runner-up in the speeding sweepstakes was a driver arrested for going 128 mph in Kandiyohi County.

About 130 deaths on Minnesota's roads are attributable to speeding every year, according to the Public Safety Department.

BOB VON STERNBERG