June 21, 2007 Acting as a champion for alternative fuels and engine design, the group behind the British Steam Car Challenge has a lofty goal in its sights; a record-breaking 150mph run on british soil, followed by a 200mph run on the Bonneville salt flats of Utah. Steam engines run on external combustion, meaning they're not fuel specific like internal combustion engines. The steam-powered streamliner will run a 12,000rpm turbine engine producing 225kw of power.
Development is progressing rapidly on the British Steam Car project. Four LPG-powered boilers will feed the turbine engine with steam pressure, and the car will operate at total loss, consuming and expending the entire volume of water it carries for each run. The group plans to retire the vehicle to the British National Motor Museum Trust at Beaulieu once it has set an internationally-verified 200mph land speed record.
The group is currently seeking funding from patriotic individuals and companies - donations as small as one pound will get any donor's name or company name on the speedster's Union Jack livery as it steams its way into the record books. Interested parties can support the project at the British Steam Car Appeal website.