When choosing and evaluating a car, they often look at its appearance, cost or fuel consumption. But still, the most attractive thing about the car is its speed. That is why we decided to compile a list of the fastest iron horses to find out who owns world speed record for a car?
10. Ferrari LaFerrari
Our list of the history of car speed records opens with the Italian hybrid Ferrari LaFerrari. Its engine is powered by both gasoline and electricity, so on top of the base 789 horsepower, the iron monster has an additional 161 horses. Its creators have invested in it many systems that they equip their cars that compete in Formula 1 competitions. Speed – 350 km/h
The British development of 2013, which also has a hybrid engine, impresses with its capabilities, and most importantly, its agility. It has several functions taken from racing cars and in terms of speed it is on par with the LaFerrari - also 350 km/h.
Another English model that breaks into the list of speed records for production cars, due to the fact that it is in no way inferior to the two previous cars, demonstrating 350 km/h. It was originally planned to equip the XJ220 with a V12 engine, providing all-wheel drive, but the end result was only a V6 and rear-wheel drive.
7. Aston Martin One
The most lightning-fast Aston in the entire history of the brand, created and presented to the public back in 2008. Despite its size and 7.3-liter engine, it accelerates to 355 km/h. In total, exactly 77 copies of these were released.
What is the speed record for a car? You have to ask the creators of McLaren, because their cars have been distinguished by the highest performance for decades. The F1 has a V12 engine from BMW, a body made of carbon fiber and the ability to accelerate to 388 km/h.
5. SSC Ultimate Aero
Many have not even heard of this car, but it was he who held the record for maximum speed in a car for one year. The Ultimate Aero managed to beat the Bugatti Veyron record, showing a result of 414 km/h, but very soon lost to its opponent again.
4. Bugatti Chiron
The model, whose name is a reference to a Greek deity, was supposed to be a replacement for the Veyron era, but was not. Yes, it accelerates to 420 km/h, but at the same time it is still inferior to the latest version of the “Super Sport” class by as much as 10 km/h.
3. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
The world-famous Volkswagen company acquired all the rights to Bugatti with one single goal - to make the fastest car in the world. And it is so, because at the moment this is exactly what is written in the Guinness Book of Records. Super Sport reaches a speed of 431 km/h.
2. Hennessey Venom GT
Another dark horse of the world of high speeds is Hennessey, a sports car built on the basis of the well-known Lotus. He was able to accelerate to 435.2 km/h, but did not get into the Guinness Book of Records due to not following all the rules for conducting the test.
1. Koenigsegg Agera RS
What is the world record for car speed? 447 km/h and it belongs to the creation of Swedish auto industry masters, who gave their best when creating the Agera RS, which has 1360 horsepower at its disposal, as well as a V8 engine.
There are people who live at top speed. They chase records and strive to be the fastest. And it doesn’t matter how they do it - behind the wheel of a racing car or on the back of a racing camel. The point is that speed is in their blood.
If BMW were a person, the same could be said about it. From superb performances in the DTM racing series and European touring racing, in Formula 1 and circuit racing, speed has been an integral part of BMW's life throughout its history and remains so today.
Technologies developed on the race track and during record-breaking runs are used by BMW in the development of road cars. Firstly, this is evidenced by the quality of German technology, repeatedly tested under extreme loads. Secondly, many of the company’s “civilian” models breathe speed, for example, the “charged” 370-horsepower beauty BMW M2 Coupe, capable of accelerating to “hundreds” in 4.3 seconds and limited to 250 km/h only electronically for safety reasons. Finally, it is worth mentioning the line of BMW M Performance accessories, which allows you to customize various models of the company in a sporty style. A carbon body kit that reduces aerodynamic drag, a power increase package, sports exhaust and braking systems, interior accessories - the opportunity to make a car out of an ordinary car attracts many.
That's why today we're talking about speed records. About brilliant engineers who build fast cars, planes and ships. About fearless pilots who take risks to become one of the fastest. About records, simple and complex, ordinary and strange - about what a person cannot exist without.
LAND SPEED RECORDS
ABSOLUTE SPEED RECORD ON THE LAND:
1227.986 km/h
VEHICLE: THRUST SSC
POWER UNIT: TWO ROLLS-ROYCE SPEY RB.168 MK.202 TURBOFAN ENGINES
PILOT: ANDY GREEN
DATE: OCTOBER 15, 1997
WHO WILL BEAT: BLOODHOUND SSC CAR
Today there is only one team in the world that consistently breaks one absolute speed record after another, and this situation has persisted for 30 years. It all started with the fact that back in 1983, Richard Noble accelerated to a speed of 1019.47 km/h in a jet Thrust 2 in the Black Rock Desert. A decade and a half later, Noble acted as a designer - his pilot Andy Green set two speed records in a row in the mighty Thrust SSC. Today the same team is preparing for the next race the monstrous Bloodhound SSC, which should accelerate to more than 1600 km/h. Thrust SSC became the first car to break the sound barrier. Its design used two aircraft engines with a total power of 110,000 hp, similar to those installed on the F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber and burning 18 liters of fuel per second. Not very economical, but the record has stood for almost 20 years. Because no one except Noble is trying to beat him.
HYDROGEN POWERED VEHICLE:
487.672 km/h
VEHICLE: BUCKEYE BULLET 2
POWER UNIT: HYDROGEN FUEL CELL ENGINE
PILOT: ROGER SCHROER
DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
WHO WILL BEAT: BUCKEYE BULLET 3 IN 2017-2018
Although hydrogen-powered cars have been around for a relatively long time, until 2004 no one tried to build a special car to set a speed record in this field. The first was the BMW company, which presented a record-breaking BMW I I2R car with a giant 12-cylinder engine, which eventually accelerated to 301.95 km/h. The record stood until 2009 - it was broken by a team from Ohio State University on a special Buckeye Bullet 2. It is worth noting that the same guys hold the speed record for electric vehicles (495.526 km/h), set a year later on a Buckeye Bullet 2.5. The third generation of the car is currently in development.
STEAM CAR:
238.679 km/h
VEHICLE: INSPIRATION
POWER UNIT: TWO-STAGE STEAM TURBINE
PILOT: DONWALES
DATE: AUGUST 26, 2009
WHO WILL BEAT: TEAM STEAM USA CYCLONE IN 2017-2018
The speed record for a steam car lasted for 103 (!) years. Back in 1903, pilot Fred Marriott, in a record-breaking Stanley Rocket, accelerated to 205.5 km/h on Daytona Beach. Until the mid-1980s, no one simply bothered with the need to break this record. In 1985, the American pilot Bob Barber reached a speed of 234.33 km/h in the Barber-Nichols Steamin Demon, but the record was not recognized by the FIA due to a violation of the rules (Barber conducted both races in one direction, while the FIA requires them to be carried out in opposite directions within one hour). Finally, in 2009, a British team led by Glynn Bowsher built the steam-powered Inspiration, which exceeded the bar set by Marriott. Now two teams - Steam Speed America and Team Steam USA - are preparing their steam cars for the races, and one of them is likely to overturn the British achievement.
MOTORBIKE:
605.697 km/h
VEHICLE: TOP OIL ASK ATTACK STREAMLINER
POWER UNIT: TWO TURBORATED SUZUKI HAYABUSA ENGINES
PILOT: ROCKY ROBINSON
DATE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2010
WHO WILL BEAT: ROCKY ROBINSON HIMSELF IN 2017-2018
In the 2000s, the battle for the motorcycle speed record was very intense - pilots Rocky Robinson and Chris Carr surpassed each other's achievements four times, alternately ending up at the top of the record pyramid. Robinson reached the point on the Ack Attack streamliner, becoming the first motorcyclist to break the 600 km/h bar. The record-breaking motorcycle was equipped with two powerful Suzuki Hayabusas with a total volume of 2598 cm3, enhanced by Garret turbocharging. It is interesting that in record practice the line between the concepts of “car” and “motorcycle” is very thin - motorcycles with a side support (“sidecar”) are very similar to cars; history even knew a case when the record car Spirit of America by Craig Breedlove was “requalified” into the motorcycle after the race, although one way or another he set an absolute speed record for any vehicle in 1963.
AIR SPEED RECORDS
PROPELLER AIRCRAFT:
871.38 km/h
VEHICLE: PASSENGER AIRCRAFT-1M
POWER UNIT: 4 GAS TURBINE ENGINES NK-12
PILOT: IVAN SUKHOMLIN
DATE: MARCH 24, 1960 WHO WILL BEAT: NO ONE. SMALL PLANES ARE NOT CAPABLE OF THIS, AND THEY ARE NOT BUILDING LARGE PLANES WITH PROPELLER traction ANYMORE
Not all records belong to the British and Americans. For example, the speed record for an aircraft driven by propellers (that is, not a jet) has been held for more than half a century by Soviet test pilot Ivan Sukhomlin, who accelerated to 871 km/h on the Tu-114. The 114th was, in fact, the last large passenger turboprop airplane, and at the time of its creation (1957) - the largest passenger airplane in the world in general! It was driven by four huge NK-12 SNTK Kuznetsov engines, and each rotated two propellers with a diameter of 6 m in opposite directions. Today, the era of turboprop aircraft is a thing of the past, and it is unlikely that anyone will ever invest millions of dollars in the construction of a machine, capable of breaking this record.
MUSCLE:
44.26 km/h
VEHICLE: MUSCULAIR 2
POWER UNIT: NONE
PILOT: HOLGER ROCHELT
DATE: OCTOBER 2, 1985
WHO WILL BEAT: SOME OF THE ENTHUSIASTS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY MORE ACCURATELY
The muscle plane is an unusual and rare device; in the entire history of mankind, hardly a hundred have existed. The first flight of an aircraft using muscular (pedal) propulsion occurred only in 1961, and the first flight not in a straight line, that is, allowing you to change the direction of movement, was in 1977. German engineer Gunther Rochelt was one of the enthusiasts of muscle flying, creating two record-breaking aircraft, Musculair and Musculair 2. Musculair became the first muscle plane in history to lift a passenger (the pilot was Gunther's son Holger Rochelt, and the passenger was his daughter Katrin). And in the second generation, Holger set a still unsurpassed speed record for a machine using muscle power. In fact, there are enough enthusiasts of this unusual trend in the world, and sooner or later Holger’s record must fall. But obviously not in the next three or four years.
HELICOPTER:
508.6 km/h
VEHICLE: PRODUCTION BELL 533 HELICOPTER
POWER UNIT: 1 LYCOMING T53-L-9A GAS TURBINE ENGINE AND 2 PRATT & WHITNEY JT12 TURBOJETS
PILOT: LUHARTWIG
DATE: APRIL 15, 1969
WHO WILL BEAT: SIKORSKY S-97 RAIDER IN SPECIAL CONFIGURATION
The speed record for a classic helicopter, the Westland Lynx, has stood since 1986 and is 400.87 km/h.
But there is a way to cheat the nature of a rotorcraft: attach a push/pull propeller or jet engine to it, so that the main rotor produces only lift. Actually, Bell 533 was the first experimental helicopter with a pusher jet. And if the pusher propeller of the promising Sikorsky S-97 Raider is replaced with a turbine for experimental purposes, it may well be able to break Bell’s record.
AIRPLANE:
3529.6 km/h
VEHICLE: LOCKHEED SR-71 BLACKBIRD STRATEGIC RECOUNTY
POWER UNIT: 2 PRATT & WHITNEY J58 AIR JET ENGINES
PILOT: ELDON JORS
DATE: JULY 28, 1976
WHO WILL BEAT: MOST LIKELY NOBODY - NOBODY JUST NEEDS THIS
The Air Force's famous strategic supersonic reconnaissance aircraft, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, was not a dedicated record-breaking aircraft. It’s just that in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, the task was set to develop an aircraft that, due to its high speed and high altitude, could evade both observation and attack by the Soviet Air Force.
In particular, the MiG-25 was being developed in the USSR around the same time. One way or another, the Blackbird turned out to be very unusual - its design seems futuristic to this day, although it made its first flight on December 22, 1964. And in 1976, test pilot Eldon Georges set an absolute speed record for aircraft, and at the same time an absolute altitude record for a planned flight (without the help of a record “candle”), 26,929 m. The SR-71 also holds several other speed records in different disciplines. Interestingly, in the 1980s, pilot Brian Schul claimed that during the 1986 Libyan operation he achieved even higher speeds in the SR-71, but instrument readings did not confirm this.
SPEED RECORDS SAILS AND RAILS
ABSOLUTE WATER SPEED RECORD:
511.121 km/h
VEHICLE: SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA
POWER UNIT: WESTINGHOUSE J34 TURBOJET ENGINE
PILOT: KEN WARBY
DATE: OCTOBER 8, 1978
WHO WILL BEAT: THEORETICALLY SOME MADMAN. PRACTICALLY - NOBODY
In the 20th century, speed records on land and on water were equally prestigious and were often set by the same people - the great Malcolm and Donald Campbell (Henry Seagrave, Gar Wood. It seemed that in 1967 a point in the conveyor of records was put by the American Lee Taylor on the boat Hustler, but ten years later the Australian Ken Warby appeared. He designed and built a plastic-wooden ultra-light boat Spirit of Australia, on which he installed a Westinghouse J34 jet engine, bought at a flea market for $69. And put it on this miracle of technology two speed records - first beating Taylor by 6 km/h, and then adding another 50 km/h to his result. Warby's record is unique - no one today dares to repeat his crazy "trick" with a boat that weighed less than the engine that drove it was in motion, and in the event of any accident it would turn into a handful of scraps.
SAILING SHIP:
121.21 km/h
VEHICLE: CATAMARAN BOAT VESTAS SAILROCKET 2
POWER UNIT: SAILS
PILOT: PAUL LARSEN
DATE: NOVEMBER 2012
WHO WILL BEAT: PAUL LARSEN HIMSELF ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF CATAMARAN
Surprisingly, the absolute speed record for a sailing vehicle long belonged to... surfers - first windsurfers, then kite surfers (their sail is a kite). Only for a short time in 2009 - 2010, the achievement was held by the French trimaran Hydroptere.
But in November 2012, Australian Paul Larsen finally returned honor to “normal” sailboats. The high-tech (carbon-titanium) and insanely expensive catamaran Vestas Sailrocket 2, specially designed to set this record, seriously “broke” surfers who could not accelerate to more than 103 km/h - and, most likely, will no longer be able to, since surfing has technical limit.
CONVENTIONAL RAIL VEHICLE:
603.0 km/h
VEHICLE: MAGLEV L0 SERIES MAGLEUS TRAIN
POWER UNIT: LINEAR MOTOR
PILOT: TEAM OF TESTERS, INCLUDING JR TOKAI TESTING CENTER HEAD YASUKAZUENDO
DATE: APRIL 21, 2015
WHO WILL BEAT: THE NEXT GENERATION OF JAPANESE MAGLEV OR HYPERLOOP
If we take a “normal” train, and not a jet skid for military tests, then the record in this area was set quite recently. The result shown on the Yamanashi test section by the SCMaglev MLX01 maglev (581 km/h) lasted for 13 years, and now the next generation, the L0 Series maglev, turned out to be even faster, breaking the 600 km/h bar for the first time in the history of passenger trains. The record train consisted of a locomotive and six carriages. There were 49 JR Central employees on board, and the train maintained its maximum speed for 10.8 seconds. Such tests are carried out to find out the technical limit of the Maglev system, as well as to understand how passengers feel when using it. The actual cruising speed of the L0 Series is 10 km less. By the way, if we talk about ordinary rail trains, then the record (574.8 km/h) has been held by the French SNCF TGV POS for nine years.
RAILS:
1017 km/h
VEHICLE: ROCKET SLED SONIC WIND NO.1
POWER UNIT: ROCKET ENGINE
PILOT: JOHN PAUL STEPP
DATE: DECEMBER 10, 1954
WHO WILL BEAT: HYPELOOP - THERE ARE NO MORE CONTENDERS
We're not talking about a locomotive, but about a jet sled. They hold the speed record for unmanned ground vehicles, 10,326 km/h. Jet-powered sleds placed on rails are capable of reaching insane speeds. In the 1950s, Americans conducted a series of tests related to the effects of superspeed on humans. In a chair bolted to the sled sat Colonel John Paul Stapp. During the tests, he became for some time the fastest man on earth (even airplanes didn’t fly that fast back then).
UNUSUAL SPEED RECORDS
ON THE MOON:
18.0 km/h
VEHICLE: APOLLO 17 LUNAR ROVING VEHICLE)
