Computer Designed Car Sets Speed Record

amcdiarmid writes "Several sources are reporting that the first entirely computer designed car, the JCB Dieselmax, has broken the diesel speed record of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH. From the article: 'The record attempt came after a string of trial runs on the runways at the airbase. But while testing went well, the team endured a troubled time in the US. The combination of the altitude (4,000ft) and the higher air temperatures affected the performance of the second engine, which was generating insufficient turbo boost pressure and led to days of work for the small team of engineering experts.'"

That's pretty fast

[ackthpt]

broken the diesel speed record of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH.

But they could probably top 350 MPH if they'd ditch the CB antenna and Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps.

this thing gets some real looks at the Sapp Bros.

Re:That's pretty fast

[Tackhead]

> But they could probably top 350 MPH if they'd ditch the CB antenna and Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps.

Me an' Tim was haulin' chickens
O'er a lakebed outa Wiggins
And we had spent all night on the uphill side,
Of thirty seven hundred square miles of hell called Bonneville Flats,
(Which was up on the great divide...)

And we was sittin' there readin' Slashdot,
And moderatin' like Crow T. Trollbot,
And I says "Tim, let's send an Internet down the tubes,
And then send them chickens on down t'other side"
(Yeah, lets give them hens a ride.)

Chorus:
Bonneville flats, way up on the great divide,
Truckin' on down, the other side.

Leverton put down his bottle,
With Andy's foot down on the throttle,
Ate a couple o' smores, then 1500 horse,
from a two-thousand-ought-six Dieselmax screamed to life.
(We woke up the chickens.)

We roared up off'n that shoulder,
Sprayin' pine cones rocks 'n boulders,
And put four hundred head of them Rhode Island Reds
And a couple of burnt out roosters on the line.
(Look out below. 'cause here we go...)

...and I really don't have to change another word of Wolf Creek Pass [narrowgauge.org], by C.W. McCall, from that point onwards, because the ride was just about as hairy.

'Cept for that feed store in downtown Pagosa Springs. Place was still a mess from when that truck done run through it.

Re:

[Nate B.]

That brings back memories! I knew right away the source of your parody.

As a kid I was a big C.W. McCall fan and had most of the albums (yes, real vinyl albums) plus a couple on 8-track. I'd borrow mom's stereo to play them. The things my folks put up with. :-D

Re:

[Baloo Ursidae]

But they could probably top 350 MPH if they'd ditch the CB antenna and Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps.

I don't get it. I use CB, and there's very few magnet mount antennas that won't get blown off at speeds over 65 MPH, and it took some research to find one that had a strong enough magnet to handle Oregon's highest freeway speeds (70 MPH...nobody goes faster because it's cost prohibitive to get a ticket at speeds higher than that since once you're going 70, you're probably going 15 faster than posted, a

Re:

[TheWanderingHermit]

But they could probably top 350 MPH if they'd ditch the CB antenna and Yosemite Sam "Back Off" mudflaps.

Maybe so, but I doubt they could have still not jumped into the 8th dimension and driven through a mountain.

At least not without the oscillation overthruster.

Re:

[budgenator]

It was worded badly, just adding "new speed record" and "previous speed record" would have made things clear as mud.

Re:

[Fred_A]

That's because the secret method the used was reversing the polarity.

all part of the plan

[User 956]

Several sources are reporting that the first entirely computer designed car, the JCB Dieselmax, has broken the diesel speed record of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH.

..and it will help those computers find Sarah Connor just that much more quickly.

Re:

[cloricus]

You are assuming that they understand American whats its instead of the distance and speeds that the rest of the world uses. Any one care to translate them to metric so that our new machine overlords have an easier time?

Re:

[Majik Sheff]

Approx 528 Km/H or 881664 furlongs/fortnight

Re:

[cloricus]

Thanks...Now where did that model T get too?

Re:

[N Monkey]

You are assuming that they understand American whats its instead of the distance and speeds that the rest of the world uses. Any one care to translate them to metric so that our new machine overlords have an easier time?

Well, the vehicle is British so the speeds would be in MPH but the fuel tank size would be measured in litres. Wonderful consistency for you :-)

Imagine the bandwidth of...

[Anonymous Coward]

a diesel computer designed car going 328 MPH filled with hard drives.

Are we talking...

[ackthpt]

a diesel computer designed car going 328 MPH filled with hard drives.

An information super highway, here?

Yeah, but...

[dgatwood]

...the ping times are a bitch.

Re:Yeah, but...

[x2A]

It took 5 days for a car my secretary sent to reach me, because it got stuck in traffic. You see, cars aren't like trucks, you can't just dump loads of stuff onto them. Cars are a cereal of tubes, they run on... I'm not finished, they run on milk in a bowl. Excelsior!

Re:

[doubtless]

did your secretary notify you of the internet I sent to you last week?

Re:

[slashbob22]

I see a VW Pigeon coming on.

"High Bandwitdh, High Latency, Transport for Today's Information Hungry Society"

Then it did it again...

[chill]

...on the next day of testing, it again bested the record. This time it was 350.092 MPH. http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?t ype=topNews&storyID=2006-08-23T151359Z_01_L2331696 1_RTRUKOC_0_UK-TRANSPORT-DIESEL-RECORD.xml [reuters.co.uk]

Re:Then it did it again...

[BWJones]

Yeah, this was their plan to do it incrementally. I got some great shots of the JCB team doing their thing during Speed Week here [utah.edu]. The Dieselmax team was having some problems setting up the car for the salt and were gradually working their way up and had planned all along to really go for the record the week or so after Speed Week.

Re:

[B1ackDragon]

Stunning pictures! I know very little about cars or racing, but I would have loved to have been out there...

Re:

[BWJones]

Thanks! You really do not have to know alot about racing to enjoy the atmosphere out there. I am an unabashed gearhead, but my friends are not and they are absolutely hooked on attending.

Re:

[budgenator]

I used to do a lot in IR with film, had to develope my own slides in the E4 process, which was fun.

Re:

[BWJones]

I've done a bit of IR with film and you are right, it is fun. Shooting digital is interesting because most manufacturers place IR filters over the CCDs. Sometimes you can pry them off if you wanna risk it to your digital SLR, but there are also models which are optimized for astrophotography that do not have the IR filters on them....

They took slashdots advice..

[ModernGeek]

...They took our advice. [slashdot.org] A person or organizations prosperity is parallel to the seriousness taken while reading slashdot.

Deisel motors

[Reality Master 101]

But while testing went well, the team endured a troubled time in the US.

Sources said the motor had been making an unbelievably loud clunking sound, as well as spewing black smoke. Only later did they figure out that was the way the engine was supposed to sound.

(/RM101, the not-so-proud one-time owner of a Diesel Mercedes Benz, the loudest, most embarrassing-to-drive car he's ever owned)

Re:

[legoburner]

Hopefully the black smoke thing will go away as the fuel is changed in the US [chicagotribune.com] (if it is ever changed). Certainly here in the UK diesel seems to have little difference to gas beyond diesel's greater fuel efficiency and slightly higher price, ever since they mandated a change in refining. I have to say it still gives off slightly worse fumes* than regular gas, but the difference is much less significant in comparison to just 10 years ago.

*in terms of odour and appearance

Re:Deisel motors

[BLKMGK]

This particular diesel doesn't smoke - it's running a blended mix to help prevent that. Black smoke is unburned fuel and a sign of an improperly tuned diesel. The low sulphur fuel will help air quality and allow us to FINALLY get some of the better diesels here but I don't think it will change the exhaust smoke since if the car is running right it shouldn't smoke anyway. I've got a new TDI and I've yet to see any smoke but expect to see some come Winter...

Re:

[arivanov]

The only way not to see smoke ever is to do additional injection of propane into the fuel mix which is known as gas-diesel, eco-diesel or white diesel (depending on the country). It is quite common in European public transport. In some places (Milan, other Italian cities, parts of Germany, etc) most of public transport runs on this and it is great. No smoke whatsoever. Unfortunately (as most things invented by Germans on the continent) it is not allowed for cars and trucks in the UK. You can have it on a bo

Re:

[Bertie]

You've never seen it smoke? Next time you're on the freeway, drop it into third and overtake, and watch for that big black puff out the back. It's only for a fraction of a second, but it'll smoke all right.

Re:

[BLKMGK]

Duh, of course it should and it *does*. You'll note that COLDER temps actually cause LEANER Air/Fuel mixtures not rich which is what black smoke indicates. However colder temps also mean that the fuel doesn't atomize nearly as easily - even at the sick pressures the TDI uses. The result with a diesel, just like a gas vehicle, is rich mixtures in order to get combustion at all and that means some smoke from a diesel as unburned particles make it out the pipe. Warm it up quickly and the emissions impact is le

Re:Deisel motors

[afidel]

The black smoke hasn't been a problem for properly maintained engines ever, but much cleaner diesel's should be available in the US this fall. Refineries have been producing S15 Low Sulphur diesel since June and all retail outlets should have it by October 15th according to EPA requirements. This means that manufacturers can start importing designs from europe that are designed to run on ultra low sulphur diesel fuel. These designs are MUCH less polluting then engines designed for low grade diesel. For more info see link [chevron.com]

Re:

[Nutria]

This means that manufacturers can start importing designs from europe that are designed to run on ultra low sulphur diesel fuel. These designs are MUCH less polluting then engines designed for low grade diesel.

How will "engines designed for low grade diesel" react to LS diesel oil?

Will they need to be retuned?

Maybe you should step into the 20th century?

[Gordonjcp]

Modern diesels (say, designed in the past 25 years) aren't much noisier than petrols, and are a hell of a lot cleaner. I think the big problem is that American manufacturers just can't make a decent engine, either petrol *or* diesel. Pretty much all the US V8s I've heard have been mechanically *much* noisier than anything else - probably because of their antiquated pushrod designs. Did you know the rest of the world has moved onto overhead cams now?

Re:Diesel motors

[YeeHaW_Jelte]

Come to Europe and get a whiff of my domestic (Renault) diesel car, it runs fine. But I actually have it maintained, as you obviously didn't with your mercedes diesel.

I know Americans associate diesel with trucks and stuff, but here in Europe a fairly large quantity (I estimate 33-50%) of domestic cars run on diesel. It has better mileage, cheaper fuel (which is still a bigger issue here, even now we pay about twice as much for our fuel as you do) and with turbo and injections they are at least as quick as

Diesel

[Mark_MF-WN]

I've been working at a fuel retail depot (a gas station, in the "new" English), and I've noticed that a lot of Europeans ask for Diesel (which we don't have, of course, this being Canada with its insanely backwards fuel laws). Nice folks. I like how they're the only ones who NEVER complain about the price of gas. Being harangued by old men about how Iranians are surely paying less than we are for petroleum gets old fast -- especially since our gas is only expensive because of the free-trade deal with US

The Speed of /.

[1+(smarterThanYou)]

http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/23/diesel-powered- car-edges-on-half-the-speed-of-sound/ [engadget.com] Apparently Slashdot isn't as fast as it used to be. That car has already hit 360+ mph. 320+ mph is now old hat. As an aside, all these smaller blogs seem to be able to keep up with the news much better than slashdot these days. I often find myself with a feeling of deja vu when I'm on Slashdot, as I've no doubt read the clippings elsewhere a few days prior. Ah, the problems inherent in scale.

Re:

[Moofie]

So go. I won't miss you. Promise.

Re:

[Waffle Iron]

I often find myself with a feeling of deja vu when I'm on Slashdot, as I've no doubt read the clippings elsewhere a few days prior.

Does that really matter in the big scheme of things? When I was a kid, I found out about stuff like this in places like Popular Science magazine. Most all the tech news I read was already at least a couple of months old by the time I saw it, but despite that I seem to have turned out OK.

Sure that's fast...

[the_humeister]

... but I want a car that can break the sound barrier [wikipedia.org]. That way I can visit the fiance in 4 hours instead of 8.

Re:

[Tarquin Sidebottom]

Interestingly enough, as well as a common driver (as pointed out in the post above), both vehicles had their aerodynamics designed by Ron Ayers.

http://www.jcbdieselmax.com/html/team.php?team_id= 5 [jcbdieselmax.com]

Any Greens Thrust past the sound barrier.

[Brigadier]

from the link .....................
Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) is a British designed and built jet propelled car developed by Richard Noble and Ron Ayers, which holds the world land speed record. It is powered by two afterburning Rolls-Royce Spey engines, as used in British variants of the F-4 Phantom II. It is 54 ft (16.5 m) long, 12 ft (3.7 m) wide and weighs 10.5 tons.

On October 15, 1997 in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada USA, driven by Andy Green, ThrustSSC became the first land vehicle to smash the so

Lights

[donutello]

Something tells me it'll be the red and blue lights that will bother him more than the red and green kind.

Re:

[dakirw]

Something tells me it'll be the red and blue lights that will bother him more than the red and green kind.

Only if the red and blue lights can catch up. Another likely problem is the slow driver that likes to drive in the fastlane. At the speeds that he's talking about, he won't be able to switch lanes in time. Or trucks passing - they're a plague sometimes while driving on the I-5.

Re:

[scheme]

Only if the red and blue lights can catch up. Another likely problem is the slow driver that likes to drive in the fastlane. At the speeds that he's talking about, he won't be able to switch lanes in time. Or trucks passing - they're a plague sometimes while driving on the I-5.

It's really hard to beat radio waves telling someone to setup a roadblock 10 miles down the road.

Re:

[stunt_penguin]

Which is why I always think police vehicles & helicopters should come equipped with these [wikipedia.org] for reckless idiots with no regard for the lives of others.

Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they designate you? =)

Come on, 'entirely computer designed' ?

[ScentCone]

The connotation is that someone signed onto a machine somewhere and at the command prompt, typed "design_car -fast -diesel", and poof, there's the design.

It's a human-designed car, designed by humans using computers (as they have for decades), and no pencils this time. TFA goes on and on about all the people on the team and the work they did, and that's great. So, what's with the headline and summary?

You're wrong.

[Poromenos1]

You're full of it. The article is 100% true.

This post was designed by a computer.

Re:

[ampathee]

You can tell it's a computer by the courier typeface.

Re:Come on, 'entirely computer designed' ?

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

design_car -fast -diesel

What is it with these Linux geeks. They think the whole world works on the command line. Everyone knows that this car was built by double clicking on "Car", selecting "diesel" in the "Car Design Wizard" and then pushing the speed slider to the top. And apparently there's a hidden option in the registry that increases the range of the speed slider so we expect this record to be broken again very soon.

Re:

[PhrostyMcByte]

Just wait until they hit the turbo button- then it will use 2x the MHz to spit out a 2x faster car!

Re:

[ichigo 2.0]

Agree. When I read the title I thought that they had used genetic algorithms or some other evolutionary approach and let the computer churn out the most aerodynamically efficient design, but plain old CAD? Yawn.

Re:

[lemonylimey]

What's trying to be said on the site is that the car didn't undergo any physical testing or prototypes before the metal was cut for the production car. The mechanical parts were tested with Finite Element Analysis and, more notably, the Aerodynamics entirely with Computational Fluid Dynamics. Although most cars are designed entirely on computers these days (The Deiselmax on Unigraphics, incidentally), they'll invariably make a model of the car and test it in a physical wind tunnel. This is true of even ultr

Re:

[Pharmboy]

IMHO, the fact that a diesel set a new record, and whomped all over the old record. From 236 to just over 350 (the next day, read other links above). This is not a tiny jump in performance.

Add to the current interest in biodiesel by the nerd community, and the understanding that before diesels become popular in America, two things must happen:

1. They must meet emission standards. European diesels currently can't be sold in the US as they are in the UE because our standards are much tougher (believe it o

Re:

[cloudmaster]

Maybe in 5 years, we will be able to buy a diesel powered Camero for $25k. The prototypes look pretty good...

Yeah, I'm looking forward to when Chavrolat brings back the Camero.

Re:

[N Monkey]

1. They must meet emission standards. European diesels currently can't be sold in the US as they are in the UE because our standards are much tougher (believe it or not).

2. They must be sexy.

Presumably, if you just want to a car to meet emissions ("zero") and be sexy (e.g. be related to the Lotus Elise), you could go for the Tesla [pocket-lint.co.uk]? That's if you can get hold of one.

FYI

[hurfy]

Since it was the 1st thought i had......

Gas-powered seems to be at 410mph

No idea why that record held so long for diesel at what seems a low number (236 vs 410)

Re:FYI

[DragonWriter]

IIRC, diesel engines generally produce less power output per pound of engine weight, which hurts them in speed contests against gasoline negines. Their advantage in many applications is that they are more cost effective in terms of the kind and quantity of fuel consumed to do their work.

Re:FYI

[LunaticTippy]

You're wrong about diesel. It is a more efficient design, giving much higher torque per pound of engine weight and often more horsepower. There is an interesting bit about a diesel race car needing to be handicapped to compete fairly with gasoline cars here. [leftlanenews.com]

Re:FYI

[BLKMGK]

Diesel gives more torque partly because as a fuel it contains more BTUs per gallon than gas - it has more energy. Compression ignition is also more effeciently (apparently) which results in better MPG. Part of the reason why that Audi did so well was because it didn't have to refuel nearly as often as it's competitors - I believe it was allowed to run the same size fuel tank as the others. As for weight - diesels generally have heavier engines as they stick to iron and don't use aluminum. The compression loads are a great deal higher and the aluminum apparently cannot handle it.

Personally I cannot wait for someone to build a diesel hybrid. Now that ought to get some good MPG!

Re:

[JonathanR]

The diesel torque advantage (over the otto cycle) is due to the higher brake-mean-effective-pressure of that thermodynamic cycle.

The volumetric fuel efficiency (mpg) advantage is in part due to the higher LHV (lower heating value) of diesel fuel.

The energy efficiency advantage is, in part, due to the higher compression ratio typically used and in part due to the lack of induction throttling for power control (less pumping losses). The noise generated by diesels is mostly due to the fast cylinder pres

Re:

[bibi-pov]

Personally I cannot wait for someone to build a diesel hybrid. Now that ought to get some good MPG!

You mean like the buses in New York City for instance, or the Fex-Ex fleet ? And these are just a few example, checkout this page [dieselforum.org]
As for diesel in a personal car, well, a lot of people work on it, have prototype and even have scheduled to sell them in a couple of years [automotive...review.com]. Just ask google for more...

Re:

[evilviper]

Personally I cannot wait for someone to build a diesel hybrid. Now that ought to get some good MPG!

People keep saying that, but it really doesn't make any sense.

Hybrids aren't any better than conventional engines at highway speeds. They only improve things because of how terribly ineffecient gasoline ICEs are at city traffic, and when purely idling (engine can shut-off).

Diesel engines, however, are already geared torwards more torque at lower speed, so they'd get very little benefit during stop and go. An

Re:

[Massive146]

But weight doesn't matter that much in top speed contests. The top speed is determined almost entirely by the horsepower and aerodynamic drag. It's only a problem if it takes too long to accelerate up to speed. During speed week they have 4 miles to get up to speed. If that is not long enough, I'm sure they can come back later, on their own, and get a longer course set up.
But I'm not sure what disadvantages a diesel engine would have. Maybe because not as much research has gone into high performance d

Re:

[kfg]

No idea why that record held so long for diesel. . .

It's pretty simple really; lack of interest. It takes someone to put in the time and spend the money and it's not one of your sexier targets.

For the production outfits like Volkswagon there's also very little promotional value in streamliners and virtually none for custom engined cars. They've got to hop up what they sell to imply that's what you're buying.

And diesel buyers are economy buyers.

KFG

Re:

[StikyPad]

I'm not sure, but I suspect diesel burns slower. Diesels are also more difficult to build because the compression is much higher, and the fuel is injected at the top of the stroke when the air is already compressed. I imagine both of these could cause problems creating high-RPMs, which is how most standard gasoline racing engines generate their enormous torque.

I'm not an engineer, but that's just my (un)educated guess.

Diesel

[Mark_MF-WN]

Makes sense. A less extreme version of why automobiles don't burn coal.

Funny though

[Fei_Id]

I believe the fastest gasoline powered vehicle; was a single engined vehicle. This diesel is a twin engine. Aerodynamics play a HUGE HUGE factor in top speeds. It takes an enormous amount of horsepower just to increase the top speed by a small amount. Same reason why bikes suck so bad on the top end. Their power to weight ratios on paper show ridiculously fast acceleration numbers possible at higher speeds. But in reality; they are beaten by lower power/weight cars for higher speed runs; solely becaus

Re:FYI

[cerebis]

No idea why that record held so long for diesel at what seems a low number (236 vs 410)

By default, really.

236mph, while indeed fast, isn't extrodinarily fast by today's standards in car performance. It will have simply been a lack of interest. If they break the broader "internal combustion" record of 409.3mph it would be more impressive, but then again that was set in 1965...

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[hcdejong]

Actually, JCB have built several diggers with huge supercharged V8s for use at shows. They can achieve about 100 mph, and do wheelies. They carry a 'JCB GT' tag (no doubt in reference to the joke you mentioned, and others).

The Dieselmax is a showcase for their new engine, which has been developed in-house, quite an achievement for such a relatively small company.

Re:

[hcdejong]

Building an engine for the sort of power output, power/weight ratio and power/frontal area ratio you need to achieve 500 km/h is nontrivial.
The Dieselmax uses two engines with a swept volume of 4.4 litres each, and 5+ bar of compression from the turbochargers, to get 750 bhp/engine.
The petrol-powered record cars used WW2 vintage aero engines (IIRC Merlins), at 27 litres each and running at maybe 2 bar to get 1500 bhp each. The Merlins were readily available at the time, building a record-breaking car just m

After seeing Top Gear Series 8 Ep 1...

[strredwolf]

...I guess that they'll have to rip up the New Mexico Salt Flats so noone else can give it a go.

I followed the link...

[agentcdog]

and was surprised to see that this thing really runs on 440 AA batteries. Quite the misleading article. Diesel indeed.

In other news..

[Anonymous Coward]

Ford has announced that they will begin testing a prototype computer built entirely by a car. The car used to design the computer is actually a Beowolf cluster of recalled Explorers and Expeditions from the Firestone debacle of some years ago.

"We think we can use the characteristics of our best-selling cars to build huge, powerful computers with more space than anyone else", said a Ford spokesperson. "Our latest prototype model already has eight CPU cores in a V shape. It can seat seven hard drives (two of

And a million engies

[Deliveranc3]

RTW...

/CIS Hat We're coming for you /CIS

Neat

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

I found a pic of it here [ilexikon.com].

Wherever you go in life..

[Rob T Firefly]

..there you are. [banzai-institute.com]

Turbo Boost

[Megane]

The combination of the altitude (4,000ft) and the higher air temperatures affected the performance of the second engine, which was generating insufficient turbo boost pressure and led to days of work for the small team of engineering experts.

Don't they know that K.I.T.T. can only use the Turbo Boost once per episode?

Designed?

[quanminoan]

I RTFA and visited the site but exactly how is this car "designed entirely by computers"? More likely is that the computers optimized each component through simulations based on human input. Can anyone fill us in to how exactly the computers helped design the car?

Built for a PC

[SeaFox]

Several sources are reporting that the first entirely computer designed car, the JCB Dieselmax [CC], has broken the diesel speed record [CC] of 236MPH at a speed of 328MPH.

Consumers, however, rejected the car due to lack of a stereo, air conditioner, and cup holders.

Fast?

[Tired and Emotional]

we have semis going faster than that on the freeway.

Forget fast......

[Rank_Tyro]

...."we need ludicrous speed".

Re:

[imboboage0]

I believe things like that are infinitely impossible.

It uses 2 backhoe engines!

[gurudyne]

One of the design factors for the original engine was to function as a backhoe counterweight. This made the engine block and other components so robust that the engine could easily survive the 2-stage turbocharging.

They used 200 liters of ice for cooling, had diesel particulate filters on the exhaust, and got 4 miles to the gallon. The car had only 2 gallons of fuel to start. They used a tractor with the same engine, untweaked, as a push vehicle.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Why care?

[bjackson1]

This is a serious question. Why should I care how fast we can get a diesel engine based car to go? Last time I checked the fastest I drive is around 80mph. I'd be much more interested to see more efficent engines, than more powerful. However, could this technology trickle down to produce more efficent engines? Is there any practical application to this, besides pure speed?

Obligatory Futurama Reference

[TheoMurpse]

Is there any practical application to this, besides pure speed?

Yes: as you approach the speed of light, time speeds up around you, and when you finish your race it will be the year 3000; no longer will you even need oil from the Middle East. Instead, you'll run your car on whale oil.

Re:

[donaldm]

Surprisingly people do base their car purchase on how fast a car can go and the brand that can do this.

I just recently brought a VW Passat 2.0 TDi with Direct shift gearbox and there are a few words that describe it. Excellent performance, economical (approx 5.5l/100km (approx 42 US mpg) to 7.0l/100km), comfortable seating (5), large boot, luxury mod cons and cheaper then its petrol equivalent. Granted there are some petrol cars that can beat it off the lights (if you are into this) but it seems strange tha

Altitude? Is this a flying car?

[kimvette]

The combination of the altitude (4,000ft) and the higher air temperatures affected the performance of the second engine,

Altitude? Altitude? Is this the flying car the Jetsons promised us?

Or, perhaps they mean elevation?

Damn it, the Jetsons lied to us, and so did this article! ;)

Re:

[Snorpus]

And it seems to have surprised them that the elevation was 4000 feet. Didn't they check a map or Topozone before they left Germany?

That's pretty much over 88 MPH...

[Bega]

...but does it have a Flux Capacitor [wikipedia.org]?

Re:

[morgan_greywolf]

Did somebody happen to warn these folks what Slashdot can do to a server??
any odds on how many comments it will take to bring the server to its knees??

The answer: 10.

Re:

[BiggerIsBetter]

Joke all you like, but it's very difficult to make an engine that leaks oil continuously yet never actually falls apart.

British Engineering very good at small scale prod

[Flying pig]

Who does most of the engineering in Formula 1? It employs more graduate engineers in the UK than you would imagine. The trouble with the UK is we are incredibly good at small scale production of highly designed objects, but the poor quality of our management, sales and marketing means we are no good at high volume production - we just don't do high volume customer service. When it comes to breaking records we can churn out things like Thrust 2. We churn out things like the Harrier but we can't build volume

Re:

[menkhaura]

The Nazis [wikipedia.org]?

Re:

[RegularFry]

No. [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[Cederic]

Oh please. That thing's slow to accelerate (compared to several production cars, let alone production motorbikes) and adding another engine will massively damage its weight. Its top speed is practically pedestrian - my French family saloon can go as fast.

Incidentally, how do you define a 'right hand turn'? Not that turning matters on a straight-line speed record (although keeping the thing in a straight line becomes interesting - Andy Green had the wheel turned to full lock trying to keep in a straight line

Re:

[donaldm]

Looked up this "bike" (3 wheels). Nice! but many bikes can beat most cars from a standing start, however some diesel cars (keeping on-topic) can actually go much faster than 140mph but there are very few places in the world that you can do this legally much less safely. I had a Subaru WRX (there are many cars that can beat this) that could easily reach this speed but you needed to go to a track to do it. Get caught by the cops and its by-by license and "watch your fingers" as the cell door closes.

Anyway bac

Re:

[Professeur Shadoko]

You don't seem to realize that going over 500 km/h is WAY harder and requires MUCH more energy than 325 km/h.

Air friction increases faster than the square of the speed, for instance.