World truck speed record broken

16jul05
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/

AUSTRALIA now boasts the fastest truck in the world – which can even outpace an aeroplane.

Named the Bandag Bullet, after the brand of its cold pressed retreads, the eight tonne truck blasted down the runway at the Queensland International Air Show at Bundaberg Airport today, setting a new world record for a one kilometre run.

Event spokesman Tony Hill said the Bullet will now go into the Guinness Book of Records as the only conventionally powered truck to reach a record terminal speed of over 215 kph from a standing start.

It took 18.6 seconds for the kilometre run, at an average speed of over 186 kph.

The previous record was 155.7 kph.

Driver Frank Gaffiero said the Bullet behaved and performed beautifully.

"As I crossed the finish line everything was still working perfectly and the Bullet was still accelerating. I know our top speed could be even higher with a longer runway," he said.

In the speed trial the Bullet raced a Zivko Edge 540 aerobatic aircraft, piloted by Pip Borrman, the length of the runway and beat it.

The 24 litre Bullet is powered by two V8 92 series engines linked together with two superchargers and four turbochargers.

Nitrous oxide injection boosts the power to an amazing 2,088 kilowatts.

The airshow featured aircraft ranging from grand World War II warbirds to classic and modern fighter jets, the RAAF Roulettes aerobatic team, a Bell 204 helicopter fire

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For Americans like me that don't know how fast those speeds are in mph:

1 kph = 0.621371192 mph

Old record - 155.7 x 0.621371192 = 96.7474946

New record - 215 x 0.621371192 = 133.594806

Uhhhh, is it just me or does 133mph in .62 miles sound stupidly slow. Was the record made with four flat tires or something? A guy on my street has an s-10 that's faster than that.

It does sound slow but i've seen this truck in a video before. 2800 HP (Tq must be outrageous!) . It's not a truck, it's a Semi!


Video:
http://www.bandagbullet.com/bandagb.../bullet2003.mpg

Truck Specs:
http://www.bandagbullet.com/bulletspecs.htm

Pictures:
http://www.bandagbullet.com/2.jpg

http://www.bandagbullet.com/3.jpg

Well, I would think it's pretty fast considering the weight and aerodynamics. Here in South Africa we regularly have 1km top-end runs with speeds for street-legal 4 cylinders in the region of 270km/h to 290km/h (168.75 mph to 181.25mph). I will go and look up what the current record is.

You ever been stuck behind a Semi coming away from a light? I'm impressed.

Edit: Sorry, I did not look at the date until after I pressed submit. Thread came up in the related threads at bottom of page.