Wired posts that the British Steam Car Team is trying to break the land speed record of 127.659 mph for a steam-powered vehicle set in 1906 by Fred Marriott in a Stanley Steamer Rocket. The British Steam Car uses liquefied petroleum gas and 12 microboilers to generate the 3 megawatts of heat needed to create a steam temperature of 750 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam drives a two-stage turbine that propels the car. The system can turn 10.5 gallons of water a minute into steam at 40 times atmospheric pressure. The team hopes to hit 170 mph but, during its attempt on March 24, a water filter let impurities into the water system leading to a blockage and the team got no where near the record. However, looking at the effort and $ being put into this it would seem to be just a matter of time before the record is broken.
We would rather be Fred in 1906. Imagine the rush. We doubt few people had reached 100 mph in an automobile in 1906 and we can just speculate on what passed for safety gear on the Stanley Steamer Rocket as he sat astride the overheated boiler.
