0
Enthusiasts behind a British-built steam supercar will attempt to break a century-old world land speed record for steam-powered vehicles tomorrow afternoon. The 25ft-long car - dubbed the 'fastest kettle in the world' - aims to go faster than 127mph - the speed reached by American Fred Marriott in a Stanley steam car in 1906 at the Daytona Beach Road Course. The team will begin their attempt at 6am tomorrow morning in California, or 2pm UK time.
The Lymington-based team are optimistic about their chances after they successfully carried out five test runs in excess of 100mph on Saturday. Their own calibrated equipment measured an average speed of 137.14mph, which would be enough to break the longest officially-recognised land speed record. However they hope to reach a target velocity of 170mph with their car at the Edwards Air Force base in California. This would be faster than the vehicle 'Steamin' Demon' created by the Barber-Nicholls team. This clocked the unofficial speed of 145mph in 1985.
Project manager Matt Candy said: 'It was an enormous achievement on Saturday and one we hope to replicate. 'The timing equipment is currently being set up across the six-mile lake bed.'The team agreed earlier this month to defer the record attempt until this week following a series of 'technical issues'.
The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) officials, who arrived on the site yesterday, are due to calibrate and record the team's official world record attempt.
Source
