Land speed record

For the album by the band Hüsker Dü, see Land Speed Record (album).

The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.[1] The record is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs (commonly called "passes").[2] Two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by one percent to be validated.[3] There are numerous other class records for cars; motorcycles fall into a separate class.

Contents

History

The first regulators were the Automobile Club de France, who proclaimed themselves arbiters of the record in about 1902.[4]

Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognise the same world records[5] until 1924, when the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) introduced new regulations: two passes in opposite directions (to negate the effects of wind) averaged with a maximum of 30 minutes (later more) between runs, average gradient of the racing surface not more than 1 percent, timing gear accurate within 0.01sec, and cars must be wheel-driven.[6] National or regional auto clubs (such as AAA and SCTA) had to be AIACR members to ensure records would be recognized.[7] The AIACR became the FIA in 1947. Controversy arose in 1963: Spirit of America failed on being a three-wheeler (leading the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to certify the record when the FIA refused) and not wheel-driven so the FIA introduced a special wheel-driven class.[8] No holder of the absolute record since has been wheel-driven.

Piston-engined, wheel-driven land speed record

In 2008 Tom Burkland broke the piston-engined, wheel-driven record for the flying mile, recording a speed of 415.896 mph (669.319 km/h). He drove the Burkland family streamliner powered by two 450+ cu. in. supercharged alcohol-fueled Donovan (aluminum Chrysler) engines (bought second-hand), with crankshafts bolted together nose-to-nose.[9][10]

In September, 2010 George Poteet made a serious attempt to break the piston-engined, wheel-driven record for the flying mile and flying kilometer. He drove the Speed Demon built by Ron Main, powered by a 299 cubic inch aluminum 'Hellfire' V8, built by Kenny Duttweiler.[11] Their effort was thwarted by a number of parts failures attributed to the 2500 horsepower generated by the relatively small motor. The team stated their intention to return in 2011 to set a record over 450 mph (724 km/h), and at the 2011 Bonneville Speed Week Poteet achieved 426 mph (685 km/h).[12]

The Target 550 team of Marlo Treit and Les Davenport are planning to raise the record for this class to more than 500 mph (804 km/h). They plan to mount their attempt in the near future on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The car is being built by Jim Hume in the state of Washington in the northwestern region of the US. It will be powered by two Dodge hemispherical head (Hemi) motors with Waterman fuel pumps, Whipple superchargers, Mallory Mags, Crane Cams, Gates drive belts, RCD pulleys, heads by Webster and KB billet crankshafts. The car will have a frontal area of 8.61 sq ft (0.800 m2) and is 40+ feet long with a 1.5 degree included angle on the sides of the body front to rear. The model was tested and modified in the Western Washington University wind tunnel with assistance from Dr. Michael Seal. The current front end provides 1000 lbs of downforce to prevent the car from becoming airborne.[13]

Women's land speed record

In 1906 Dorothy Levitt broke the women's world speed record for the flying kilometer, recording a speed of 91 mph (146.25 km/h) and receiving the soubriquet the "Fastest Girl on Earth". She drove a six-cylinder Napier motorcar, a 100 hp (74.6 kW) development of the K5, in a speed trial in Blackpool.[14][15][16]

Records

1898–1965 (wheel-driven)

See also: Wheel-driven land speed record
Date Location Driver Vehicle Power Speed over
1 km		 Speed over
1 mile		 Comments
mph km/h mph km/h
December 18, 1898 Achères, Yvelines, France Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat Jeantaud Duc[17] Electric 39.24 63.15
17 January 1899 Achères, Yvelines, France Camille Jenatzy[17] 41.42 First man to break a land speed record [17]
December 18, 1898 Achères, Yvelines, France Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat Jeantaud Duc Electric 65.79 First specialist land speed record vehicle, first 60mph pass[4]
April 13, 1902 Nice, France
Promenade des Anglais		 Leon Serpollet Gardner-Serpollet Oeuf de Pâques (Easter Egg) Steam[4] 75.06 120.80
1902 Albis-St. Arnoult, France William K. Vanderbilt Mors Internal combustion 76.08 First IC-powered record[4]
January 12, 1904 Lake St. Clair, USA Henry Ford Ford 999 Racer IC — 91.37 147.05 On frozen lake[18] (Not recognized by L'Automobile Club de France)
January 26, 1906 Ormond Beach, USA Fred Marriott Stanley Rocket[6] Steam 127.66 205.44 First record over 200 km/h (124 mph). First speed greater than contemporary rail speed record.
Remained the record for steam powered vehicles until 25 August 2009.[19]
November 6, 1909 Brooklands, United Kingdom Victor Hémery 200 hp (150 kW) Benz No 1 IC 125.94 202.68 115.93 186.57 First run using electronic timing[6]
June 24, 1914 Brooklands, United Kingdom L. G. Hornstead 200 hp (150 kW) Benz No 3 IC — 124.09 199.70 First 2-way record, set at Brooklands under new Association International des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) 2-way rule[6]
12 July 1924 France Ernest Eldridge FIAT Mephistopheles IC — 145.89 234.98 Fastest LSR ever on a public road[6]
March 29, 1927 Daytona Beach, USA Henry Segrave Mystery (aka "Sunbeam 1000 hp") 203.79 327.97 The first car to reach a speed over 200 mph (320 km/h)[20]
February 19, 1928 Daytona Beach, USA Malcolm Campbell Blue Bird 206.956 333.048 [7]
April 1928 Daytona Beach, USA Ray Keech Triplex Special 3 Liberty 207.552 334.007 [21]
March 11, 1929 Daytona Beach, USA Henry Seagrave Irving-Napier 925 hp (690 kW) Napier 231.446 372.459 Seagrave was knighted for this effort[22]
1929 Verneuk Pan, South Africa Malcolm Campbell Blue Bird IC 246.09 396.025 First 250 mph (400 km/h) pass. Campbell was knighted for this effort[22]
March 7, 1935 Daytona Beach, USA Malcolm Campbell Blue Bird IC 276.816 445.472 [22]
1937 Malcolm Campbell Blue Bird IC 301.129 484.598 First 300 mph (480 km/h) pass, first absolute record set at Bonneville[22]
19 November 1937 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA George Eyston Thunderbolt Two Rolls-Royce Schneider Trophy engines (4,700 hp (3,500 kW)) 311.42 501.16 [22]
1938 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA George Eyston Thunderbolt 345.49[22]
1938 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA John R. Cobb 350.2 563.566 [22]
1938 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA George Eyston Thunderbolt 357.5 575.314 [22]
August 23, 1939 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA John Cobb Railton Special IC 369.74[22] 595.04 367.91 592.09
September 16, 1947 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA John Cobb Railton Mobil Special IC 394.196[6] 633.79 394.19 634.39 First 400 mph (640 km/h) pass
July 17, 1964 Lake Eyre, Australia Donald Campbell Bluebird CN7 turbine 403.10[8] 644.96

Current location of vehicles

The Sunbeam 350HP, Sunbeam 1000HP, Golden Arrow, and Bluebird CN7 are on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, England.[23]

ThrustSSC and Thrust2 are both on permanent display at Coventry Transport Museum, England.

1963–present (jet and rocket propulsion)

Craig Breedlove's mark of 408.312 miles per hour (657.114 km/h), set in Spirit of America in September 1963, was initially considered unofficial. The vehicle breached the FIA regulations on two grounds: it had only three wheels, and it was not wheel-driven, since its jet engine did not supply power to its axles. Some time later, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme created a non-wheel-driven category, and ratified Spirit of America's time for this mark.[8] On July 27, 1964, Donald Campbell's Bluebird CN7 posted a time of 403.10 miles per hour (648.73 km/h) on Lake Eyre, Australia. This became the official FIA LSR, although Campbell was disappointed not to have beaten Breedlove's time. In October, several four-wheel jet-cars surpassed the 1963 mark, but were eligible for neither FIA nor FIM ratification. The confusion of having three different LSRs lasted until December 11, 1964, when the FIA and FIM met in Paris and agreed to recognize as an absolute LSR the higher speed recorded by either body, by any vehicles running on wheels, whether wheel-driven or not.[24] Thus, Art Arfons' Green Monster was belatedly recognized as the absolute LSR holder, Bluebird the holder of the wheel-driven land speed record, and Spirit of America the tricycle record holder. No wheel-driven car has since held the absolute record.

Date Location Driver Vehicle Power Speed over
1 km		 Speed over
1 mile		 Comments
mph km/h mph km/h
September 5, 1963 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA Craig Breedlove Spirit of America Turbojet 408.312 657.114 407.447 655.722 Ratified by FIM as vehicle has 3 wheels.
November 2, 1965 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA Craig Breedlove Spirit of America - Sonic 1 Turbojet 555.485 893.966 555.485 893.966[25]
November 15, 1965 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA Craig Breedlove Spirit of America - Sonic 1 Turbojet 594 955.950 608.211 -[26]
October 28, 1970 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA Gary Gabelich Blue Flame Rocket 630.478 1014.656 622.407 1001.667 [27]
October 4, 1983 Black Rock Desert, USA Richard Noble Thrust2 Turbojet 634.051 1020.406 633.47 1019.47 [27]
September 25, 1997 Black Rock Desert, USA Andy Green ThrustSSC Turbofan 713.990 1149.055 714.144 1149.303 [27]
October 15, 1997 Black Rock Desert, USA Andy Green ThrustSSC Turbofan 760.343 1223.657 763.035 1227.986[28] First supersonic record

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIA land speed records". FIA. http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/records/Pages/Introduction.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  2. ^ Regulations for Record Attempts - CHAPTER 2 - FIA
  3. ^ "§105. Conditions for the recognition of international or world records". Sporting Code: Chapter 7: Records. FIA. http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/Common/sporting_code/chapter07.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16. 
  4. ^ a b c d Northey, Tom (1974). "Land Speed Record: The Fastest Men on Earth". In Tom Northey. World of Automobiles. Vol. 10. London: Orbis. p. 1162. 
  5. ^ Martin, James A.; Thomas F. Saal (2004). "Ch 17: Land Speed Record to 1939". American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7864-1235-8. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f Northey, p.1163.
  7. ^ a b Northey, p.1164.
  8. ^ a b c Northey, p.1166.
  9. ^ "Ugo Fadini Burkland Family Streamliner". Ugofadini.com. 2008-12-27. http://www.ugofadini.com/burklandstory1.html. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  10. ^ "Ray the Rat's Chevy Asylum". Chevyasylum.com. http://www.chevyasylum.com/lsr/bsf2008/shootout/burkland/Welcome.html. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  11. ^ "Speed Demon". Cameltoe.net. 2010-09-15. http://www.cameltoe.net/News_View.aspx?Articleid=124. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  12. ^ Squatriglia, Chuck. "This is what 426 mph looks like." Autopia. Wired. August 24, 2011.[1]
  13. ^ "Treit & Davenport". Target550.com. http://www.target550.com/index.html. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  14. ^ Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey, Tom, ed. The World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 13, p.1483.
  15. ^ Georgano, G.N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886–1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985).
  16. ^ "Women in Motorsport - Timeline". Btinternet.com. http://www.btinternet.com/~rhobbs/womtime.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  17. ^ a b c Northey, p.1161.
  18. ^ Cars Against the Clock, The World Land Speed Record, Robert B. Jackson (New York, Henry Z. Walck, Inc.), p.19, ISBN 0-8098-2078-1
  19. ^ [2] - The British Steam Car Challenge
  20. ^ Holthusen, Peter J.R. (1986). The Land Speed Record ISBN 0854294996
  21. ^ Northey, Tom (1974). "Land Speed Record: The Fastest Men on Earth". In Tom Northey. World of Automobiles. Vol. 10 (London: Orbis), pp.1164-5.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i >Northey, p.1165.
  23. ^ "Motor Collection at The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire". National Motor Museum. http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/beaulieu/motorcollection. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
  24. ^ "from our motoring correspondent" (December 12, 1964). "Land Speed Record Agreement". The Times (Issue 56193): p. 7, col E. 
  25. ^ Cars Against the Clock, The Fastest Men on Earth, Clifton, Paul, New York, The John Day Company, page 238, L.C. 66-15097
  26. ^ Spirit of America, Breedlove, Craig, Chicago, Illinois, Henry Regnery Company, pages 183-184, L.C. 71-143833
  27. ^ a b c "FIA land speed records, Cat C". FIA. http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/7D4955E7190F1A25C12572FB00559369/$FILE/Records_List_Cat-C.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-12. 
  28. ^ http://fia.com/en-GB/sport/records/Pages/Introduction.aspx FIA, retrieved 17 January 2011

External links

Extremes of motion
Speed
Distance
See also