Revolutionary streamlined rear wheel driven steam vehicle launched. Supercar weighing just over three tones was structured in the New Forest to break a world land speed record for vehicles powered by steam. Eight minutes are necessary to make a car go with a fuel capacity, air and water for a three-minute run. The car has almost two miles of tubes inside its frame and 12 boilers creating the steam by turning distilled water into superheated steam. It’s a compact boiler system that is designed to turn 40 liters of water per minute into steam at 400 C.The steam is injected into the vehicles turbine at more than twice the speed of sound. There are four autonomous boilers, being able to run independently. The vehicle is a combination of lightweight carbon-fibre composite and aluminium with a steel space frame chassis. The chassis consists of a cross-braced double ladder space frame made of steel tube with a bulkhead between the driver and the power train.
The cars powered by steam were considered to be the fastest on the planet last century. The British steam car was tested to check its steering, parachute deployment and braking systems. The parachute system is used in case the braking system fails. The steam generation system is computer controlled. Water for the steam generation system is carried in two nitrogen pressurized tanks. The Tanks contain liquid petroleum gas to produce three megawatts of heat.
Steam turbine, fed by a boiler and fired on LPG provides motive power. Gear train is driven by the turbine with a ratio of 5:1 with a wheel speed of 3000 RPM at 200 MPH. The body shell is from the bulkhead forwards is carbon composite, while the rear panels are in aluminium. The car is slowed down by outsize Goodyear tires with brake pads. The braking system comprises disk brakes on all four wheels. The vehicle’s layout is rear engined. The car is rear wheel driven and all four wheels are installed on a double wishbone independent suspension where a rack and a pinion steering are placed on the front wheels. There are also coil springs and integrated shock absorbers.
Dimensions:
Overall length: 5.25 m
Overall width: 1.70 m
Overall height: 1.10 m
Frontal area: 1.1 sq.m
Wheelbase: 3.80 m
Front wheeltrack: 1.22 m
Rear wheeltrack: 1.30 m
Drag coefficient: 0.20
Tyres
Front: Goodyear L.S.R. - 270 mm rolling rad. X 140 mm width
Rear: Goodyear L.S.R. - 211 mm rolling rad X 165 mm width
Engine
Two stage Curtis type turbine.
Output: 325 b.h.p.
Differential: Epicyclic type with viscous couplings.
Fuel
L.P.G. (Liquefied petroleum gas).
Design performance
Maximum speed 200+m.p.h.
Initial acceleration: 0.52g
