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I will still be persnickety and expect world speed records for a "car" (as a synonym for "automobile") to be achieved by propelling it by its wheels, not by bei

I will still be persnickety and expect world speed records for a "car" (as a synonym for "automobile") to be achieved by propelling it by its wheels, not by being a jet/rocket sled. (unresolvable ontological arguments to follow below)

SAI_Peregrinus 11y ago
They're going for a land speed record, not a wheel-driven land speed record. So a Category C vehicle (Special Vehicle) and not A (Special Car) or B (Production Car). While it's not a car it IS an automobile.
- userbinator 11y ago
  More precisely, land wheeled speed record meaning the vehicle still rolls on the ground. Rocket sleds can go much faster because of their lack of wheels... this one reached Mach 8.5 (~10000km/h): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8.5_Mach_rocket_sled_030430.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8.5_Mach_rocket_sled_0304...
- vacri 11y ago
  Sounds like there's an impending division between wheel-powered and unpowered-wheel land vehicles...
S_A_P 11y ago
I had some trouble reconciling this as well when I read about thrust SSC. Think about the prospect of going 1000+ mph where you need 3 separate systems to stop. That is crazy fast and there is a significant amount of time when the driver has little effective control over the vehicle. He is riding a rocket and hoping for the best. It's an amazing technical achievement, conventional car or not. I certainly wouldn't want to be the driver here...
alkonaut 11y ago
I'm not sure why it's interesting to find the fastest rolling thing driven by a jet. How much ground pressure must it have? 100% it's own weight at max speed, to not be a low flying airplane? That said, even if you mix in anything jet powered it's still plenty fast. The fastest jets from the Cold War couldn't do 1000mph (Mach 1.3) at ground level (and of course none tried it rolling). A few planes can/could do Mach 1.2 (900mph) on the ground.

SAI_Peregrinus 11y ago

They're going for a land speed record, not a wheel-driven land speed record. So a Category C vehicle (Special Vehicle) and not A (Special Car) or B (Production Car). While it's not a car it IS an automobile.

userbinator 11y ago
More precisely, land wheeled speed record meaning the vehicle still rolls on the ground. Rocket sleds can go much faster because of their lack of wheels... this one reached Mach 8.5 (~10000km/h): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8.5_Mach_rocket_sled_030430.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:8.5_Mach_rocket_sled_0304...
vacri 11y ago
Sounds like there's an impending division between wheel-powered and unpowered-wheel land vehicles...

S_A_P 11y ago

I had some trouble reconciling this as well when I read about thrust SSC. Think about the prospect of going 1000+ mph where you need 3 separate systems to stop. That is crazy fast and there is a significant amount of time when the driver has little effective control over the vehicle. He is riding a rocket and hoping for the best. It's an amazing technical achievement, conventional car or not. I certainly wouldn't want to be the driver here...

alkonaut 11y ago

I'm not sure why it's interesting to find the fastest rolling thing driven by a jet. How much ground pressure must it have? 100% it's own weight at max speed, to not be a low flying airplane? That said, even if you mix in anything jet powered it's still plenty fast. The fastest jets from the Cold War couldn't do 1000mph (Mach 1.3) at ground level (and of course none tried it rolling). A few planes can/could do Mach 1.2 (900mph) on the ground.