British Sream car gets Stanley record

They finally did it. Down run 136, return run 151. New record is 139.843......

 

Well, I have mixed feelings. Congrats to the new record holders, but I feel bad that old record is gone.

 

so was that the oldest record standing?

 

Oi !!!

 

I happen to think some backyard hotrodder can prob best 139.

 

I think the Doble E or F ran some pretty awesome times -- not to dis anybody's performance.

And, YES, the Doble WAS on heck of a long time ago. But SOMEBODY surely has stats on osme of their time trials.

 

long way off of what the last Stanley was supposed to be doing when it desinigrated. hope some one challenges these guys.

 

Here's the rest of the story....

British Steam Car Challenge sets world speed record. Finally
by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) on Aug 25th 2009 at 5:04PM



Finally, after much ado and a number of stalled attempts, the British Steam Car Challenge team finally has the world record it has sought for so long. With an official two-way average of 139.843 miles per hour, the steam-powered streamliner really is the Fastest Kettle in the World. Congrats!

Driver Charles Burnett III was behind the wheel for both outings, and he managed to reach a peak speed of 136.103 mph on the first run and 151.085 mph on the second. Both passes were made in the presence of the FIA, so after all the correct paperwork is filed, the previous record, set at 127 mph in 1906 by Fred Marriot in a Stanley Steamer, should officially be eclipsed. Shortly after the two runs took place, Burnett said:

It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph. The car really did handle beautifully. The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance.
Click past the break for the official press release. Thanks to all who sent this in!

[Source: British Steam Car Challenge]



PRESS RELEASE:

British team breaks oldest land speed record

Edward's Air Force Base, California: Tuesday August 25th:

Today at 8.19am (California time) Charles Burnett III successfully broke the land speed record for a steam powered car – which has stood for more than 100 years – achieving an average speed of 139.843mph on two runs over a measured mile.

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, Fred Marriott, driving a Stanley steamer at Daytona Beach.

As he was congratulated by his jubilant crew, principal driver, Charles Burnett III said:

"It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph. The car really did handle beautifully. The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance"

Project Manager Matt Candy said:

"The first run took place at 7.27am when the air temperature was a cool 63 degrees Fahrenheit, the team turned around the car in 52minutes (with just 8 minutes spare) in preparation for its return run. 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 over 6.5 miles. 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 Britain, the British Steam Car ran 12 times the distance and twice the maximum speed *– all within one hour. It's been a huge challenge for all."

Pam Swanston wife of the late project manager Frank Swanston was overcome with emotion after seeing Charles power the supercar across the dry lake bed, she said:

"If only Frank was here today, it was his vision that made it a reality. He would be incredibly proud of the team's achievements and always believed we would succeed. Today we celebrate this record for Frank"

 

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/08/25/steam-powered-supercar-shatters-world-land-speed-record/

 

Congrats !
How fast would it have gone if it didn't stop for Tea ! HA !

 

very cool. They did it at Edwards airforce base near Bakersfield I just read a article about it in the local paper.

 

Am I allowed to be slightly unimpressed that an F-15 fighter-looking car beat a 103yr old speed record? Congrats to them. Now hopefully someone will get into the 200mph club by beating them.

 

they used to get steam trains up to almost that speed and they weighed hundreds of tons.......gotta say, even though it's nice to see some fellow brits winning at something I expected a lot more out of a modern steam car. 200+ would have been more like it.....I dunno, i guess it must be harder than we imagine.....

 

Is it true that the record they broke has stood since 1906 ??


oops just read and saw yes

so what ?? no one wanted to bother with a steam record for over 100 years ???!!!

Thats crazy

 

you gotta figure a gallon of water ways like 5 lbs, and ide imagine you'de need quite bit of water to make that much steam.

basically i think its a power to wieght issues, wich maybe why the return pass was almost 20mph faster..

 

What type of steam engine was in the Steamer and whats in this new car?
It's possible that water weight might have been no more than the normal ballast weight that a LSR car might carry for stability.
Steam has come a long way compared to the system that was likely in the Stanley.
Nuclear subs are steam driven turbine and use a closed loop system of water containment for stealth and durability.
Surely some of that new tech was put to use here???

I just gotta say I'm even MORE impressed with the steamers accomplishment 100 years ago, if 150 is all this new team could wring out of that modern streamlined missle!!!

 

Well you can only shovel coal so fast so that is a limiting factor.

 

Now THATS funny!

How many stokers allowed on board I wonder???

 

it seems a scaled down Doble steam engine in a lighter chassis would get 150 with ease.

 

Plenty of hot water for a bit o' Rosey Lee afterwards. Who's going to be Mother? Fancy a biccy?

 

I saw that on BBC news earlier. I'm surprised the record lasted that long too. I had heard talk of someone converting a Mazda rotary engine into steam power a few years ago. Anyone know what happened?
It would be fun to try and beat the original record with an actual Stanley Steamer. Now that would be fun.
Anyone got a Stanley Steamer for sale? LOL JK

 

13 mph above the old record set in 1906? All this new fangled gear hasn't given much of a improvement.

 

DAMN!!! I was in the hangar all day. I didn't get to see this.

I literally work 100 yards off the Muroc lake bed on Edwards AFB. I knew they were prepping for this, they have been here for a month. Would have been cool to be out there to watch this.

 

Maybe they should put a propeller on it and see if it will fly, that thing really moves.

In 1995, Fred Rompelberg of the Netherlands pedaled his way to history. The professional bicycler reached a speed of 167.04 m.p.h.....

Place your race bets here.

 

Steam is very powerfull, I think if the next guy grows a pair and puts some monster truck tires on there steam bucket they could dam near double the tea kettles record....?

 

Gee, I sure expected the Stanley Record to be smashed with a much faster speed after all that time and expence. Someone once told me there are only something like 16 moving parts in a Stanley and four of them are the wheels. Every part is available in reproduction form, if there is an Old Crow Steam Car LSR Division in the making please let me know.

 

My laptop is faster than IBM's first big computer 50yrs ago.

Where's my trophy.

Let's look at it this way: If someone built up a crotch-rocket with all the new technology and barely beat Burt Monro's record that was set years ago with old technology, I'd want to punch the guy in the head.

This sounds like something Jesse James would brag about.

 

OK, so that was a little brash. Maybe I'm too sentimental about old records.

 

and a hundred years ago the Stanley that reached that speed was shaped like a brick?...

 

Exactly....and it was built in the stone-age of steam-powered cars.