The record—which was untouched since American Fred Marriot set it in 1906—was shattered at Edwards Air Force Base, in the Mojave Desert, California. According to the rules set by the Federation International Automobile, the car had to do two runs in opposite directions, with a maximum one hour interval between them. It was a tough one: The first try failed in August 19, when there was a problem with one of the car's turbine. Needless to say, Burnett was ecstatic:

I wouldn't like to leave it this close again, it was the last but one day we had to do this. It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. The car really did handle beautifully. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance.

[BBC News and Autopia]

Burnett will try to beat the previous record-established at 127.658mph by American Fred Marriott in 1906-over the Mojave Desert in early June. Yes, Fred got that speed in 1906. On this kettle:

The attempt to break the record will happen tomorrow at 6am, California time. [Daily Mail]

The 25-foot-long steam supercar has a theoretical speed of 170mph. It uses four 90Ah electric batteries for ignition, which fires up the gas to heat twelve boilers. The boilers—which have a whooping two miles of metal tubing inside—can heat 13.2 gallons of water (50 litres) per minute to a temperature of 752 degrees Fahrenheit (400ºC). The resulting vapor is injected into a 13,000rpm turbine at go time.

Burnett will try to beat the previous record—established at 127.658mph by American Fred Marriott in 1906—over the Mojave Desert in early June.

GALLERY





END

[Daily Mail]

Of course we all know efficient LEDs will eventually find their way into every automobile, but the Audi R8 V10 takes the prize for being the first commercial vehicle to sport LEDs in everything. Headlights, running lights, turn signals—you name it there's an LED shining bright inside.

And not just shining, but "smartly" shining and adapting to the driver's needs.

Audi developers are convinced that future generations of headlights will react to weather conditions, a vehicle’s speed, the distance between vehicles, and potentially dangerous objects. “We’re striving to create intelligent headlights and taillights which think and anticipate in the interest of enhancing a driver’s safety and comfort. For example, there are already high-beam headlights in pre-series development which will allow drivers to navigate roads at night without temporarily blinding oncoming drivers. This is made possible by a variable distribution of light: An electronic system continuously calculates the distance to any approaching vehicles to ensure that the road ahead is ideally illuminated at all times – without irritating oncoming drivers," said Dr. Wolfgang Huhn, Head of the Light and Visibility Department at Audi.

Sheesh. You know you're a luxury car manufacturer when you have a Light and Visibility Department. [Gizmag and Jalopnik]

Best of all, though there's no hints on pricing and the car is still in prototype stage, it may be available in a limited run as soon as Fall this year. [Gas2.org via New Launches]

A group of students from North Carolina State University, led by industrial design student Joe Harmon, are building Splinter as part of a thesis project. Harmon and his car dons intend to look at how to work with wood in car designs, so Splinter even has wooden components in its suspension and chassis.

Crafting a car like this has required them to come up with some innovative uses of laminated wood—the wheels are made of carefully cut and layered oak veneers strong enough to take the stress of a 2,500-pound body—that's as heavy as two Smart cars. And how do you stop the heat from its powerful mid-located V8 from setting fire to the body? Turn parts of it upside down so the exhaust vents over the top of the engine, and incorporate the muffler into the rear wing, where it can also aid downforce.

Inside the car the passengers' legs go between the arms of the suspension, which sounds kinda dangerous, but clearly the team has thought long and hard about it. They want project Splinter to "explore materials, learn, share ideas and stimulate creativity." And go bloody fast. – Kit Eaton [Winding Road via Autoblog]