How It Works-Amazing Vehicles

The top-fuel

dragster

Body

An important part of the

aerody namics, the body is made of

magnesium or carbon fi bre, which

makes it light, fl exible and strong.

Driver safety

A seven-layer fi re suit, arm

restraints, seven-point harness,

neck restraint and safety helmet

keep the pilot safe.

Chassis

Constructed from 90 metres of

chrome moly steel, the chassis is

very fl exible and strong. The driver

is encased in a cage for safet y.

T

he most exhilarating, ferocious

and spectacular vehicles on the

planet, top-f uel dragsters really

are the king of all race cars. Drag racing

itself is a standing-start acceleration

contest bet ween t wo vehicles over a

measured quarter-mile track.

The most striking thing about the

sport’s quickest car – the top f uel

dragster – is its massive ten-metre

length. They are designed for perfect

weight transfer when the driver hits the

throttle. Static, 66 per cent of the weight

is on the rear and 34 per cent on the

front. Within 0.1 of a second as the car

launches, 98 per cent is on the rear. This

is perfect weight transfer, which means

more grip and traction, no wasted

motion and a 0-100mph time of 0.8

seconds. The acceleration is so great

that it only takes twice its length in

distance to get there. The 300mph mark

is reached in just four seconds with the

average quarter-mile run fi nishing in

around 4.6 seconds at over 320mph.

Then the driver will use twin

parachutes to slow down from these

speeds at the fi nish line.

The racetrack is specially prepared

w ith rubber and glue, and rear t y res are

basically massive slicks that need to be

warmed by spinning them in a ‘burn

out’. The vehicles are powered by V8

engines that run on Nitromethane fuel.

This is the explosive stuff that is four

times more powerful than regular

petrol. The cars are hand-built from

chrome moly steel and have huge

aerofoils or ‘w ings’ both front and rear

that produce tons of downforce to keep

it stuck to the ground.

Sitting behind the starting line, the

car is ‘fi red up’ by using an external

starter motor. The driver rolls for wards

100m sprinter43.18 seconds at 18mph

Scooter15.9 seconds at 83mph

Mini15.4 4 seconds at 92mph

Bugatti Veyron10.8 seconds at 140mph

Top fuel dragster4.6 seconds at 320mph

8,000bhp, 0 -300mph in four

seconds, we take a look at the

kings of the sprint

and spins the rear t y res to heat them for

the race. This leaves a fresh track of

rubber from which to ‘launch’. The crew

put the car exactly in the new tracks, and

then the driver concentrates on the

‘Christmas tree’ starting light system.

As the driver hits the throttle on the

green, they experience up to seven Gs

of acceleration. The car accelerates all

the way through the quarter-mile

racetrack until at the fi nish line, with

both parachutes deployed the driver will

Dragsters

Tyres

Sk inny front t y res don’t do much

but steer. Rear t y res are 48cm

wide and only have four to fi ve

psi so they grow during the race.

LAND