There is something magical about it: reaching the highest possible speed without leaving the ground. An Australian team hopes to break the current record with its ‘Aussie Invader’.
Ever since the end of the 19th century, people have been trying to go faster and faster on the land with cars. It all started with an electric car that reached a speed of 63.25 km / h in 1898, although there were already trains that could go faster at that time. A small century later, it was the more rocket-like ThrustSSC that set the current record in the books: 1,227.99 km / h. A record that has been unapproachable for almost 25 years now, but that must change. In Australia the ‘Aussie Invader’ is being prepared. Just like the ThrustSSC, a vehicle that looks more like a wheeled rocket than a car. In any case, he already looks bloody fast.
The team behind it now shares the first specifications and they don’t lie. The Aussie Invader has a rocket engine that generates a thrust of more than 28 tons, roughly 200,000 horsepower. Almost twice as much as the ThrustSSC. According to its creators, the 9.2-ton Aussie Invader should be able to accelerate from a standstill to a speed of 1,600 km / h in just over 20 seconds. Truly alien. If they do indeed manage to get close to that speed, the record from 1997 will really be shattered. To give you an idea how fast that is: the Aussie Invader will cover a kilometer in roughly 2.2 seconds. Parachutes and hydraulic air brakes must then bring creation to a halt. Incidentally, the Aussie Invader stands on aluminum wheels without rubber around them, which weigh 140 kilos each and must be able to withstand no less than 50,000 G.
The big man behind the project is Rosco McGlashan, an Australian driver who took the Australian land speed record in 1994 at a speed of roughly 800 km / h. An experienced man, who over the years gathered many bright minds around him to attack the absolute worldwide speed record. The Aussie Invader has been in the works for 15 years and those involved want to try to break the speed record sometime next year. Incidentally, it no longer has to fear for the successor to the ThrustSSC. The ‘Bloodhound’ named successor has reportedly been cornered due to financing problems, not least because of the corona crisis. Let’s hope all goes well with a record run of the Aussie Invader. We are curious.