Vampire (car)

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The Vampire is a turbojet-propelled car that currently holds the outright British land speed record of 300.3 mph.

Vampire was 30 feet long and consumed 7-10 gallons of fuel per mile. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Orpheus turbojet engine, it could accelerate from standstill to 272 mph in six seconds, a personal best set at Santa Pod Raceway.

Vampire was originally constructed by Allan 'Bootsie' Herridge as one of a pair of identical match race jet dragsters in 1981.

It crashed in 2006 during shooting of a segment for the television show Top Gear, severely injuring its driver Richard Hammond. Hammond did manage to beat the official British land speed record, recording a top speed of 314 mph.^[1] However, he did not officially break the British record as, according to the rules, two runs in different directions and an independent observer are required, Hammond crashed on his third run.