U.S. team wants steam record back, will use Cyclone Power engine

Filed under: Etc., Green Daily, USA, Racing

Last summer, a British team traveled to the United States with a giant green steam-powered streamliner in an effort to break the longstanding top speed record for a steam car, which had previously been set at 127 miles per hour way back in 1906 by Fred Marriot in a Stanley Steamer. Long story short, the team set a new record with an official two-way average of 139.843 miles per hour.

Apparently, at least one person here in the United States wants that record back. According to Wired, steam car aficionado Chuk Williams has secured a powerplant from Cyclone Power Technologies that he hopes will propel a 21-foot long, 1,600-pound streamlined vehicle to a higher top speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August of 2011.

That Cyclone engine is a unique piece of engineering. An external combustion engine that weighs just 200 pounds, this custom-built engine reportedly puts out 180 horsepower and has a maximum starting torque of 850 foot-pounds and 262 foot-pounds at 3,600 RPM. Sounds impressive, and we wish Williams the best in his endeavor.

[Source: Wired]

U.S. team wants steam record back, will use Cyclone Power engine originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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