A bus powered by cow manure has broken the bus land speed record, by reaching a top speed of over 80mph.

The “Bus Hound” from UK-based Reading Buses reached a lap speed of 76.785mph (123.57km/h) at Bedford’s Millbrook Proving Ground. The UK Timing Association confirmed the record.

The bus is normally speed limited to 56mph (90km/h).

Instead of petrol, the bus runs of compressed biomethane, a gas that is produced by concentrating and purifying the gases produced by cow manure and other sewage and agricultural waste to be the same quality as natural gas.

Speaking to the BBC, chief engineer John Bickerton said the company wanted to highlight the viability, power and credibility of buses fuelled by cow manure. He continued:

“We’ve laid down a challenge for other bus operators to best our record and we had to make it a bit hard for them. “Most importantly we wanted to get the image of bus transport away from being dirty, smelly, and slow. We’re modern, fast, and at the cutting edge of innovation.

The bus, which is coloured black and white to mimic the colouring of a Friesian cow, stored the gas in seven tanks fixed inside the roof of the bus, and will be used to travel some of the company’s routes around Reading in the coming months.