Wednesday 26th August 2009

Inspiration, designed by Glynne Bowsher and developed by the BSCC (British Steam Car Challenge), established a World Land Speed Record for a steam-powered vehicle, when it achieved a speed of 148.308 mph (239 km/h). This improved on the record set the previous day which broke the oldest standing land speed record set in 1906 by Fred Marriott in the Stanley Steamer. The car was driven by Charles Burnett III at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, United States. It is 7.6 m long, 1.7 m wide and weighs 3 tons. It is powered by a two-stage turbine driven by superheated steam from 12 boilers containing distilled water. The boilers are heated by burners which burn Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) to produce 3 Megawatts (MW) of heat. The steam produced is at a temperature of 400 °C and a pressure of 4000 kN/m2 (40 bar). The engine is capable of developing 288 kW (360 hp) and consumes around 40 litres of water per minute).