British steam car land record

The car has completed several successful test runs, along with its so-called "Go-Jack" - an air-jack device that will help turn the car around after its first record-attempt run.

While the British team is serious about breaking 320km/h with its streamlined car, its other objective is to promote awareness of ecologically responsible technology. It has been more than a century since the last official record attempt by a steam powered car, when in 1906 a Stanley Steamer driven by Fred Marriott clocked just under 206km/h.

This latest steam car uses a non-condensing 330mm turbine that spins to 12,000rpm and generates just 225kW of power. It is fed by four nozzles - one from each of four independent boilers - and each run will use all the stored water. The boilers lie horizontally behind the driver and the LPG fuel is fed to them at a relatively low pressure.