Skip advert
Advertisement

New land speed record

Never mind the 1000mph Bloodhound project. This is where the real cutting edge is. evo technical writer Ralph Hosier is involved in another, wonderfully eccentric World Land Speed Record attempt

It is nothing short of remarkable how often the words 'British' and 'mad' spring up in the same sentence. So it’s no surprise that the team attempting to break the World Land Speed Record for – wait for it – lawnmowers is based in this fine country.

It’s all the brainchild of Steven Vokins, life-long petrolhead and man in charge of interesting things at Beaulieu Motor Museum. The idea came to him as he lay in bed recovering from major heart surgery, which is a suitably mad start to any project. And they don’t come much barmier than trying to get what is basically a normal lawnmower to do 100mph on Pendine beach in Wales. In fact there are quite tight regulations for this sort of thing, so building the machine required a specialist team of experts. Countax, manufacturers of quality mowers, stepped up to the plate in superb style and their in-house mower racing team of Steve Hatt  and Peter Farrell set to work building a specialist machine using all the best bits from their standard mowers. At the same time I was drafted in to do some aerodynamics calculations and worry about technical details. The result is this remarkable machine, which still cuts grass, and which will be driven by Don Wales, the grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell who famously took the World Land Speed Record on the very same beach. Don currently holds the Land Speed Record for electric cars and also recently broke the steam car world record. Not only will the team win the mower record back off the Americans (who have so far managed 82mph), but it is intended to raise awareness and funds for two charities that have played a big part in saving Steven's life; Wessex Heartbeat and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. Please have a look at the web site (www.projectrunningblade.co.uk) and feel free to join the Facebook fan club.

Advertisement - Article continues below

evo Magazine is also on Twitter and has a page on Facebook

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

TVR: Why we think it’s all over
TVR Griffith
Opinion

TVR: Why we think it’s all over

There’s barely a flicker of life when it comes to TVR and the ‘new’ Griffith. We can only fear the worst
17 Jul 2025
Save £30k on a new Range Rover and buy a Renault 5 with the savings!
Range Rover
News

Save £30k on a new Range Rover and buy a Renault 5 with the savings!

Discounts on new Range Rovers are so big you could buy a new Renault 5 with the money you save…
15 Jul 2025
​Best hot hatchbacks 2025 – affordable new performance cars
Best hot hatchbacks 2025
Best cars

​Best hot hatchbacks 2025 – affordable new performance cars

Contracted though the hot hatch market may be, there are still some great models out there, from the electric Alpine A290 to the five-cylinder Audi RS…
14 Jul 2025