Steam as a motive force is both powerful and difficult to contain, but a team of Britons will be doing their best to topple the steam-powered land speed record with this amazing vapor-driven monster. Granted, the FIA-recognized steam-powered land-speed record is only 127.66 mph­ and was set in 1906 (the unofficial version is 145.607 MPH), but this thing hopes to crush that speed with an expected top-end of over 150 MPH. That's damn fast, particularly considering the rate at which you have to build steam to get moving that quickly. The cool part about this machine is the lack of a big, locomotive-style boiler. Instead, it uses a series of LPG-fired mini-boilers feeding a 360 HP Curtis turbine engine.


At the helm will be Don Wales, grandson of none other than land speed record legend Sir Malcolm Campbell (who we've mentioned before). The team and the car will be making their way over to the Bonneville salt flats this summer to make an attempt fraught with sky-high blowing-up peril, but we image it'll be a good show. PopMech has the full story, and we're sure to hear more soon. [Popular Mechanics]