A team of British engineers is to attempt to break the land speed record for a steam car.
The British Steam Car Team has now successfully carried out 5 test runs in excess of 100mph ahead of its bid to break the century-old world land speed record for set for steam-powered vehicles.
After numerous technical setbacks last week, the team were jubilant on Saturday after they unofficially beaten the old record set by American driver, Fred Marriott on Daytona Beach, Florida in 1906.
The teams own calibrated equipment measured the two way average at 137.14mph, and a 48min 52 second turn-around.
Tomorrow the British Steam Car Team will commence their attempts to achieve an official record. The current FIA record is 127mph previously set by American, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steam car in 1906
Project Manager Matt Candy said:”It was an enormous achievement on Saturday and one we hope to replicate now that the FIA timing officials have joined us today.
“The timing equipment is currently being set up cross the 6mile lakebed. When we left England we knew we had a tough challenge ahead, but we had carried out all the testing we could. Since arriving in the UK the team has had to do a lot of preparations to the car with the effects of heat, altitude and the surface conditions. Compared to UK testing at Thorney, Portsmouth, the goal has been to make the car travel twelve times the distance, at double the speed and twice in within one hour. Saturday was a milestone for the team in achieving this goal”.
The FIA is the sanctioning body and now recognizes a land speed record as the average speed of two passes made across the same measured distance in opposing directions within 60 minutes of each other. The time of the two runs is then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed.
The record run will commence at 6am (US West coast time) at Edwards air base, in California’s Mojave Desert.
