In 1970, American Gary Gabelich drove his rocket-powered car, The Blue Flame, at 1,016 kph through the Bonneville Salt Flats, and it’s still the world’s fastest rocket car. When he wasn’t breaking records, Gary also raced dragsters and worked as a test astronaut.
Who put a rocket on a bike?
Richard ‘Rocketman’ Brown started building The Challenger in 1996. It has three rocket engines, which produce about 12,200 horsepower per tonne, taking it to 530 kph!
Is it true? Some cars need parachutes.
Yes. Some cars are so fast that brakes alone aren’t powerful enough to stop them. Parachutes drag these cars back to lower speeds when they’re travelling very quickly. Thrust SSC has four parachutes to bring it back below the sound barrier.
Who went faster than the speed of sound in a car?
Briton Andy Green set a world record in 1997, when he drove the jet-powered Thrust SSC at 1,227.985 kph through the Nevada desert.
Amazing! As early as 1904, some cars could travel at more than 160 kph! Louis Rigolly was the first person to reach this speed in his enormous 100 horsepower Gobron-Brillie car, during the July Speed Trials in Ostend, Belgium. Luckily he didn’t crash. Seatbelts hadn’t been invented and Rigolly only wore a cloth cap to protect his head!
Picture Credit : Google