Many of us dream of setting our own speed record, but this usually comes with some difficulties, such as paying a fine for speeding. And this is simply a dangerous activity.
As for professional racers, they do this in specially designated places under the supervision of professional mechanics, doctors and, of course, representatives of the committee, who, in fact, record speed records. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the ten most interesting records set both on land and on water.
1. Land speed record
The absolute land speed record was set on October 15, 1997 by Andy Green, a British Air Force pilot. He did this on Black Rock Desert with a TurboSSC jet engine. He became the first driver to reach supersonic speed and break the sound barrier. Let us remember that the speed of sound is 1225 km/h, and Andy was able to accelerate to 1228 km/h.2. Underwater speed record
Usually such information is kept in the strictest confidence, since such records are set mainly by submarines, and this is a state secret. Therefore, there is only unofficial data on this matter. In 1965, the American Gato Albacore class submarine showed a speed of around 61 km/h or 33 knots. As for our submarines, the fastest one at the moment is considered, again according to unofficial data, to be the Akula class submarine, which reaches a speed of 64 km/h. It is noteworthy that its predecessor, the Alpha class submarine, could reach speeds of up to 82.7 km/h. 
3. Motorcycle speed record
American Bill Warner broke the world speed record, accelerating to 502 km/h on a tuned Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa bike.
For the race, which was held on the 2.4-kilometer runway at the US Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, Wild Brothers Racing prepared an upgraded version of the motorcycle, which is considered the fastest production bike in the world.
The modified motorcycle was equipped with a 1299 cubic centimeter engine with a Garrett turbocharger. 1000 hp motor (the standard Suzuki Hayabusa has only 197 horsepower) runs on methanol. The power unit alone costs about 160 thousand dollars.
In addition, the motorcycle received an aerodynamic body kit, an improved gearbox, clutch, exhaust system, rear suspension and other brakes. Suzuki also installed full carbon wheels from BST, which are planned to soon be offered for production motorcycles, with Continental tires measuring 120/70 at the front and 240/40 at the rear.
The previous motorcycle speed record (448 km/h) also belonged to Warner. Previously, the record belonged to Dean Sabatinelli, who managed to reach a speed of 431 km/h on a motorcycle. 
4. The fastest boat
The most interesting fact in this story is that the fastest boat was built almost on its own. Australian racer Ken Warby made it in his own yard. And the record itself was set on October 8, 1978 and was 513 km/h. At the same time, he broke his own record, set a year earlier. Then the speed was recorded at 467 km/h. 
5. The fastest sailboat
The fastest sailing vessel, or rather a surfboard with a sail attached to it, popularly called windsurfing, belongs to the world champion in this sport, Fanion Maynard. He set his record in France in April 2005, beating his own, set in November 2004. The first one was 86.7 km/h, the new one was 90 km/h. 
6. The fastest catamaran
Led by the French yachtsman Bruno Peiron, the Orange II vessel, only 38 meters long, was able to accelerate to a speed of 51.5 km/h during a regatta in July 2006. It is noteworthy that in 2005, the Orange II team made a trip around the world on the same ship, which took 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes. 
7. The fastest train
In this category, first place goes to the French TGV, which is currently the fastest operating train in the world. In April 2007, during testing, he was able to reach 575 km/h. This is about the classic train. If we take magnetic levitation trains into account, then in this category the leader is the Japanese JR-Maglev, which was able to accelerate to 581 km/h. But there is another category - toy trains. The fastest of them can reach 10 km/h. 
Japanese train JR-Maglev 
8. The fastest cyclist
Yes, and this category has its own record holders. Fred Rompelberg in 1995 was able to accelerate to 269 km/h. It seems unrealistic, but this is a recorded result. He did this by positioning himself behind the car, while falling into the so-called aerodynamic bag. 
9. The fastest steam car
The British Steam Car Challenge brought together enthusiasts who were passionate (in a good way) about speed and steam cars. The team first met in 1999 and have been dreaming of a record ever since. At the beginning of August this year, the first test run took place, and even then it was possible to accelerate the British Steam to 210.8 km/h. It turns out that the record of 205.44 km/h set by Fred Marriott on the Stanley Rocket, which had stood since 1906, has fallen. But due to some hiccups, it was not officially registered. After this, another race was held on the territory of the US Air Force Base "Edwards". And the best part for the creators of the ferry car is that they managed to overcome their previous achievement. The new official record is 225.055 km/h. 
10. Fastest electric car
There is an opinion that electric cars are necessarily very slow, but this certainly cannot be said about the Buckeye Bullet. This car was designed and built by Ohio State University students. The record was set on October 13, 2004 at the Bonneville Salt Lake and was 437 km/h. Apparently, the driver of this car, Roger Schroer, was somewhat dissatisfied with the result and two days later, that is, on October 15, 2004, he repeated his race and was able to reach 506 km/h. This figure was recorded in the book of records. 
"(fr. Always dissatisfied ) with an engine power of 40 hp. reached a speed of 105.876 km/h.
Bluebird Electric speed records
Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the world speed record nine times in various Bluebirds. On the sandy coast of Wales Pendine Sands he set the following records:
- On September 25, 1924, Campbell set a record of 146.16 mph in a Sunbeam car.
- On July 21, 1925, he reached a speed of 242.79 km/h, breaking the 150 mph mark.
Subsequently, Campbell abandoned Sunbeam cars and built cars of his own design.
- At the beginning of 1927, Campbell raised the speed record to 281 km per hour on Pendina Beach (UK).
A year later, Campbell took to the start line with the new Blue Bird. There at Daytona he set a record of 333 km/h.
- In 1935, at Lake Bonneville, Utah, he reached a speed of 301.12 mph or 484.620 km/h.
Campbell set his latest record on Utah's famed Bonneville Dry Salt Lake, discovering that the lake's salty surface was not only perfectly smooth, but also provided excellent tire grip. Almost all subsequent speed records were set at Bonneville. After this, the no longer young Campbell (he was 49 years old) left the sport, however, in 1940 he broke the world speed record on water. Campbell's record was 237 km/h.
- His son, Donald, continued the tradition and broke the 400 mph barrier in a Bluebird.
Campbell first took the new BluebirdCN7 car to the start line in 1960 at Bonneville. And one of the races almost ended in disaster: the car flew into the air at full speed, turned over and hit the ground. Contrary to expectations, the driver escaped with light scratches. Having completely rebuilt the Blue Bird and attached a high keel to it for better directional stability, Campbell took it to Australia, to the salty Lake Eyre, deciding that the Bonneville track was no longer suitable for such speeds. As a result, Campbell managed to break the record only in 1964. It was 403 mph (648 km/h). When designing the car, Campbell expected much more. But he must have been happy about this, especially since he was now officially listed as the fastest racer on the planet.
- The current world speed record holder is Don Wales. He set two American national records and eight British records. Wells, following Campbell, continued to set records, the first of which was the speed record for a car in 1998.
- In 2009, he set the current speed record for a steam car at 148 km/h.
- In August 2011, Don Wells set a new record - he crossed the 500 km/h mark.
In total, Bluebird set 27 speed records, 9 of them using Castrol oil.
Notes
Links
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
All sorts of car speed records have been set. The interest to conquer the track has probably always been in the blood of racing fans, from the very moment the cars appeared. And many succeeded.
Absolute result
The route, which was 21 kilometers long, was marked at the bottom of a dry lake located in the Black Rock Desert. Andy's car was powered by two powerful, turbofan power units from a Rolls Royce. Each engine was equipped with forced traction. And the total power of the engines reached an incredible 110,000 horsepower. It is not surprising that Green managed to accelerate to such a mark.
“Pioneers”-record holders
Now you can delve into other topics. So, the first world speed record in a car equipped with an internal combustion engine was set by a person like Emile Levassor. This was in 1985. Then the Paris-Bordeaux race took place. In fact, these were the first speed competitions! And Emil won them. His phrase, which he said after the races, is widely known: “It was crazy! I did up to thirty kilometers per hour!” Of course, at that time, at the end of the 19th century, the indicators were truly stunning. True, Emil also died because of his love of racing. In 1987, during a speed competition, he had an accident - he was trying to avoid a collision with a dog. And soon he died due to his wounds. But his speed record in a car with an internal combustion engine remained forever in history.
The following results were officially recorded. In 1898, a speed of 63.149 km/h was reached. The motorist was Count Gaston de Chasselou-Lobas. He then drove an electric car designed by Charles Jeantot. By the way, this was the first officially registered record.
Distance racing
Already at the end of the 19th century, speed competitions began to be held, in which motorists had to cover a certain distance. Whoever was first won, everything is logical. And the first was the 100-kilometer distance. She was captivated by Camille Zhenatzi, a Belgian motorist. And it was April 29, 1899. He also drove an electric car that produced 40 horsepower. The maximum he reached was 105.8 km/h.
The next distance was 200 kilometers. It was conquered in 1911. And then R. Burman became the winner. It is not difficult to guess that he drove a car from the Benz company. His maximum car speed record was incredible - 228 km/h! Needless to say, not all modern cars of some brands can produce such a maximum.
300 kilometers was conquered for the first time by H. O. D. Sigrev. This was in 1927. And its maximum stopped at 327.8 km/h. Then, in 1932, there was a 400-kilometer race. Malcolm Campbell managed to win. And it was 408.6 km/h.
The 500-kilometer race in a Rolls-Royce Iceton was won by John Iceton in 1937. He “squeezed” a maximum of 502.4 km/h out of the car. And finally, a thousand kilometers. This distance was overcome by Harry Gabelich in 1970, on October 23. His car was a rocket car called the Blue Flame. was 1014.3 km/h. Interestingly, the car was 11.3 meters long. The race took place on a dry salt lake called Bonneville.
Sound speed
And once we managed to overcome it. This was first done by a man named Stan Barrett. This is a professional stuntman from America, who was 36 years old at the time of the event. He set a record in a 3-wheeled car. It was called the Budweiser Rocket. The car was driven by them. By the way, there were two of them. The main engine is a liquid propellant engine with a thrust of 9900 kgf. And the second is a solid propellant rocket engine. It had a thrust of 2000 kgf. It was installed in the car in order to use additional power if the main one is not enough to overcome the declared speed.
The race took place at an air base in California in 1979. By the way, when talking about car speed records, one cannot help but note that this one was not registered by the FIA. And all because the rules of the organization state: to record the result, you need to conduct two races in two different directions. This is done to eliminate the slope of the route and the influence of wind. Stan Barrett turned it down. He said the record has already been set.
For a thousand miles
So far, no one has managed to reach the speed limit of 1000 mph. This, it is worth clarifying, is 1609 kilometers per hour. But people who work with cars don't lose their enthusiasm. They rightly believe that everything is possible, and this too. The designers of Bloodhound SSC, for example, have a plan to set a new record. Most likely, the car intended for the race will be equipped with three power units. The first will be a hybrid rocket motor. The second will be the Eurojet EJ200 jet unit, which is used on a fighter aircraft called And the third will be a V-shaped engine with 8 cylinders from the Jaguar concern. It will, of course, run on gasoline. But this engine will be used to drive pumps that pump fuel to the rocket motor and activate the onboard electric generator.
Other categories
Many women have also set car speed records. The best result is 843.3 km/h. It was reached by an American girl named Kitty Hambleton. And she set the record in 1976, in December. The engine power of her car was 48,000 “horses”.
The maximum that racers driving a car with a steam engine could achieve was 223.7 km/h. The car had 12 boilers, where the water was heated by burning natural gas. Every minute, approximately 40 kilograms of water evaporated in the boilers. The power of the installation was approximately 360 hp. With.
What can you say about the speed record for a production car? Naturally, the best in this regard is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport hypercar. Its indicator is 431.072 kilometers per hour! But this is not the limit. After all, the fastest and most dynamic passenger car designed for road driving was... the Ford Badd GT! He was able to reach 455 km/h. And this is more than the notorious “Bugatti”.
Diesel “record breakers”
Cars whose engines run on diesel fuel are often underestimated. So, all stereotypes are instantly destroyed by JCB Dieselmax. It consumes diesel fuel, not gasoline. Under the leadership of the same Andy Green, they set a record of 563.418 km/h. This happened in 2006. It is worth recalling that a similar test was carried out in 1973. The result that year was an order of magnitude lower - 379.5 km/h.
The fastest production car running on diesel fuel is a German representative. And this is the BMW 330 TDS. Its maximum is 320 km/h. The unit of this model has 6 cylinders and a volume of three liters. Plus, of course, turbocharging. The engine power is 300 “horses”. And the consumption, by the way, cannot but rejoice - only 8 liters per 100 km.
Other results
The car speed records by year were described above. As you can see, many good results were achieved not even in the 21st century. And indeed, it is so! For example, the Audi S4 released in 1992 is recognized. This model is capable of reaching 418 km/h. In any case, this result was recorded during a race on dry Lake Bonneville. Under the hood of this all-wheel drive car was a 5-cylinder turbocharged engine. Its power was increased to 1100 hp. With.
He also set a speed record for a car with wheel drive. It was 737.4 km/h. And finally, we cannot help but mention the speed result that was achieved on a motorized balance beam - 76.625 km/h! This is exactly what the structure, made of cedar logs and car parts, achieved. The record, by the way, is fresh - it was recorded in 2016.
Russian indicators
Naturally, speaking on this topic, one cannot help but note the speed record for a car in Russia. “Ladas” and “Volgas” are produced on the territory of our country - they are still as far away as possible. But there is still some interesting record in history.
It was installed by people such as Oleg Bogdanov, Vladimir Solovyov and Viktor Panyarsky - the team of the magazine “Behind the Wheel”. Men driving a VAZ-2109 crossed the whole of Europe in 45 hours and 30 minutes. The start was in Moscow, on Manezhnaya Square. And the “jet trip” ended in Lisbon, not far from the Belem Tower. The idea to make such a run did not come spontaneously. This was a response to the Portuguese initiative. In 1986, two Portuguese journalists arrived from Lisbon to the Russian capital. They covered the entire route in 51 hours and 30 minutes. Soviet journalists accepted the challenge and, one might say, won the unspoken argument.
And another case happened in 2009. A resident of Samara in his Lada-21099 reached a speed of 277 km/h! The most interesting thing is in a traffic jam, during rush hour, at about nine in the morning! The guy exceeded the speed limit by 217 kilometers. Also a kind of record. Possible, probably, only in Russia.
As part of our story about the record-breaking hot rod that will attempt to break the Bonneville speed record, we went to the US to inspect its engine. Along the way, we visited the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) museum and decided to remember the history of setting speed records.
Only after it had appeared, the car became a source of pride and a reliable way to get a good dose of adrenaline. Every owner wondered if he could outrun a horse or at least leave his neighbor's car behind. Moreover, traffic rules were still in their infancy, and it was much more difficult to lose your license for reckless driving than it is today. So they drove everywhere.
Start
In 1770 in Paris, a tractor with a steam engine reached an incredible speed of four kilometers per hour, and in 1803 Richard Travity (again, on a steam engine) reached either eight or nine miles per hour (about 13-14 kilometers per hour). hour) - the exact figure has not gone down in history. But these were records in words, which were told to friends over a glass of tea. And the first officially recorded record was set on the Jeanto electric car in 1898: it was 63.14 kilometers per hour.
The first speed record is believed to belong to the French racer and designer Emile Levassor, who set it during the Paris-Bordeaux race. The whole world remembers his phrase, which served as the beginning of the desire for high speeds: “We delivered thirty kilometers per hour! It was real madness! But in 1895, there were no official rules for determining record performance, so formally the French engineer was left without the status of a pioneer.
And it went to Count Gaston de Chasselu-Lobas, who took care of registering his achievement. The car, developed by designer Charles Jeantot, accelerated to 63 km/h at a distance of 1 kilometer. His eternal rival, professional racing driver Camille Zhenatzi, decided to take the title of record holder, who accelerated to 66 km/h just a few days later. This is how a long-term confrontation began, during which the cars continued to be improved and received increasingly improved power units, as well as aerodynamic bodies. In 1899, Comte de Chaslus-Lobas finally managed to significantly outpace the enemy, reaching 92.7 km/h - then such a speed was considered simply unattainable.
But just two months later, Kamil Zhenatzi set the first landmark speed record in a car - he overcame the 100 km/h mark, exceeding it by 5 kilometers. He owed much of his incredible success to a new vehicle - a car called “Forever Dissatisfied,” which was equipped with electric motors and had a streamlined body made of alloyed aluminum alloy.
Surprisingly, the next milestone was first overcome by steam transport, which had not yet been completely written off - in 1906, racer Fred Marriott in a Stanley car accelerated to 205 km/h. Internal combustion engines, then still very imperfect, could not reach such a record. But in 1909, the Blitzen Benz, driven by Victor Emery, achieved a speed of 202 km/h on the Brookland circuit in Great Britain. Two years later, Robert Burman set the next world speed record using a car with an internal combustion engine - he reached a value of 228 km/h.
The next world speed record was set by Henry Seagrev, who used a Sunbeam “The Slug” 1000 hp car, equipped with two aircraft engines with a total power of 900 horsepower. On the Daytona Beach track in 1927, he accelerated to 327 km/h, which allowed him to simultaneously exceed the milestone mileage of 200 per hour. It is interesting that, unlike previously existing prototypes, this machine was not at all light - its total launch weight exceeded 4 tons!
Another famous racer, Malcolm Campbell, who had previously unsuccessfully tried several times to set a world speed record in a Blue Bird car equipped with a Napier engine, could not come to terms with Sigrev’s championship. In 1931, Campbell brought a new generation of his famous car to Daytona Beach, which was called the Campbell-Napier-Railton. During two runs, he showed a speed of 396 km/h, just shy of the next threshold. However, a year later he returned with a slightly modified car, and reached a speed of 404 km/h, officially writing his name in history and receiving the title of knight.
However, soon internal combustion engines also had to make room, giving way to more powerful jet turbines. But until this happened, the American John Eyston took advantage of the maximum available power of the internal combustion engine at that time, installing two Rolls-Royce aircraft engines with a capacity of 5,000 horsepower on his car. In 1937, his record-breaking car reached a speed of 502 km/h, driving several times along the bottom of dry Lake Bonneville. In 1939, this record was raised to 575 km/h, but Eyston refused further competition, and was soon surpassed by racer John Cobb, who showed results first of 595 and then of 640 km/h.
After World War II, most racers switched to jet engines, which seemed more promising to them. Indeed, on the same dry Lake Bonneville, American Harry Gabelich in 1970 accelerated to a speed of 1014 km/h. Such a car, called Blue Flame, was equipped with a single jet turbine, the thrust of which reached approximately 22 thousand horsepower. In 1979, it was stated that stuntman Stanley Barrett broke the speed of sound, but the driver did not want to make a second run in accordance with the rules for setting records, and the army specialists who took the measurements did not record his achievement in the protocols.
To date, the maximum vehicle speed record belongs to the supersonic vehicle Thrust SSC, which showed a result of 1228 km/h. The corresponding confirming record was made in 1997, when the car entered the track in the Black Rock Desert of the United States. The car was equipped with two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines operating in afterburner mode - their total power reached 110 thousand horsepower. British Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, who holds the title of the fastest driver, was invited especially to drive such an incredible vehicle.
