How It Works-Amazing Vehicles

© NA SA; DA RPA; GE; Incat; Get t y; SSC Programme; Bloodhound SSC; Ter

r y Pastor/The A r t A genc y; A lex Pang

1

Milk fl oat

By swapping the milk

deliver y truck’s electric motor

with a V8 engine, British

Touring Car Championship

driver Tom Onslow-Cole

reached 124.8km/h (77.5mph)

in the not-so-aerodynamic

bugg y as part of the eBay

Motors Mechanics Challenge.

2

Lawnmower

Honda UK’s ‘Mean Mower’

goes from 0-97km/h (60mph)

in four seconds and claims to

reach top speeds (on the

track, not the lawn) of

209km/h (130mph). Makes

quick work of cutting the

grass, but the 1,000cc

motorcycle engine might

bother the neighbours!

3

Police fl eet

Only in Dubai... In 2013,

the cit y of unrepentant excess

made some additions to its

public safet y patrol: a

£275,000 ($450,000)

Lamborghini Aventador and a

Ferrari FF. Criminals have no

chance of making a getaway!

4

Bicycle

The VeloX3, built by a

team of Dutch university

students, looks like an

elongated egg. The recumbent

bicycle is covered in a

hyper-aerodynamic shell that

enabled it to reach record

speeds of 133.8km/h (83.1mph)

in 2013.

5

Skateboard

Mischo Erban is king of

the daredevil maniacs who

practise the competitive sport

of downhill skateboarding.

Erban set a new world record

in 2012, reaching 130km/h

(80.7mph) on a mountain road

in Québec, Canada.

Fast and

curious...

Speed on the rails

The future of high-speed trains is without a doubt

magnetic. The principle of magnetic levitation (maglev)

allows trains to reduce drag by fl oating on a one to

ten-centimetre (0.4 to four-inch) cushion of air created by

opposing electromagnetic fi elds in the track and car. The

Shanghai Maglev Train in China became the fi rst

commercial maglev in 2003 and still holds the operational

speed record for a commercial train: 431km/h (268mph).

However, Japan is developing its own maglev line between

Tokyo and Nagoya, with trials hitting the 500km/h

(310mph) mark. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk (founder of

SpaceX) plans to take maglev to the next level. His

Hyperloop design propels train cars through a sealed,

low-pressure tube on cushions of air at speeds

approaching 1,300km/h (800mph). Today, conventional

high-speed lines in Spain, France, Italy, South Korea and

elsewhere reach speeds exceeding 300km/h (186mph),

using a combination of streamlined aerodynamics,

lightweight plastics and electric-powered locomotives.

The lightweight and agile Scorpion

FV101 boasts a perfect combination of

speed and toughness for warzones

Thrust SSC rocket car

4.5 hours

X-15 rocket plane

46 minutes

Spirit of Australia

10.9 hours

The new L0 maglev train being

tested in Japan has already

clocked 500km/h (311mph)

FASTEST VEHICLE

ON TRACKS

Weaponry

The 76mm (3in) main

gun isn’t a tank killer,

since the Scorpion was

designed for recon

rather than fi ghting.

Engine

The original Jaguar

petrol engines have

been swapped out

for more powerful

Cummins BTA 5.

diesel models.

Drive sprocket

The forward sprocket

receives power from

the engine to drive the

caterpillar track.

Road wheels

Five wheels on either side of

the Scorpion use hydraulic

suspension to smooth the

ride at high speeds.

Lightweight

Weighing in at only eight

tons, the fast and

manoeuvrable Scorpion

runs circles around more

battle-focused tanks like

the 62-ton Challenger.

DID YOU KNOW? According to Einstein’s theories, no spacecraft will ever reach the speed of light as it would need infinite mass