A team of British engineers has broken the world speed record for a steam-powered car in
The steam car, Inspiration, recorded an average speed of 139.843mph (225.06km/h) at Edwards Air Force Base in the
Driver Charles Burnett III piloted the car for both runs, reaching a peak speed of 136.103mph on the first run and 151.085mph on the second. The new international record, which is subject to official confirmation by the FIA, breaks the previous official FIA record of 127mph set in 1906 by American driver Fred Marriott, who drove a Stanley Steamer at
Charles Burnett III commented after his record-breaking run that the Inspiration car took 10 years to develop and had to overcome numerous engineering challenges.
‘What we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance,’ he said.
Project manager Matt Candy said the car outperformed its test runs in
‘The British steam car takes 2.5 miles to accelerate and after the measured mile, a further 2.5 miles to decelerate – so each run was more than 6.5 miles,’ he added. ‘The FIA requires that the return run takes place within 60 minutes. The times of the two runs are then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed.
‘Compared to the testing we did in
To read The Engineer’s Cover Feature about Inspiration, click here: http://tinyurl.com/n2zoua
The original Stanley Steam ‘Rocket’ world record holding car was 16ft long, weighed just 860kg, had a chassis made from an upturned canvas canoe and had just 30HP. It was also reportedly doing 190mph on a test run the following year just before it hit a depression flipping it into a crash that completely destroyed the car and severely injured the driver.
You are a bit behind the news boys, the team raise the speed record again the next day. I have followed this attempt for years, but I can’t help feeling it isn’t much of a success only raising the record by about 20mph in 106 years. I guess we will have to wait until it’s broken again, to be able to judge how much of an achievement this has been.
I think I would have preferred an economically viable steam powered delivery van.