Whether it’s the past, present or future, we humans have an inborn desire to go faster than ever before. In fact, we’ve already travelled at speeds greater than Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound.
From the 1st ever rocket powered car which broke the sound barrier to space shuttles that travel over 20,000 mph, today in this article we take you through the top 10 fastest vehicles ever travelled by Humans.
10. Fastest Train
Imagine, if you can travel from LA to New York in just 6 and a half hours and that too by train. That’s right!
The Japanese railway company has the latest high-speed, Super Conducting MAGLEV TRAIN, which reached a top speed of 375 mph, to become the fastest train in the world. The record was set during a test run conducted in 2015 during which the 7-car train, hit its top speed in only about 4 minutes into the run.
With 49 Railway employees on board, the train sustained its top speed for 10.8 seconds, travelling 1.1 miles in the process. Maglev trains have no wheels and float on a cushion of air. They use magnets to reduce the friction between wheels and tracks. This allows the bullet train to reach speeds of more than 300 mph.
9. Fastest Car
Swedish hyper car Koenigsegg Agera RS has set the world record for the fastest production car ever, by setting an average top speed of 277.87 miles per hour on a closed public road in Nevada, beating the previous record holder, the Bugatti Veyron super sport.
This feat was achieved in November 2017 by the Koenigsegg team, with Niklas Lilja, the factory test driver behind the wheels. He got into top gear at 220 miles per hour and ended up reaching a top speed of 284 miles per hour.
Koenigsegg Agera RS -t he hyper car is powered by a twin-turbo 5.0-litre V8 engine, which develops an incredible 1,380 horsepower. Also, Agera RS completed the 0-249-0 mph run in just 36.44 seconds, smashing the previous time of Bugatti Chiron by more than 5 seconds. If you are truly fond of super-fast cars, then this electrified hypercar can cost you an whopping $2.1 million.
8. Fastest Helicopter
Helicopters are mostly known for hovering, not for speed. But, AIRBUS EUROCOPTER X3, powered by 2 Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines is known for both. With the technology advancing ever so fast, helicopters have become faster and more lethal.
In mid-2013, Eurocopter X3 reached 293 mph during a 40-minute flight, at an altitude of 10k feet over southern France. While moving downwards, it achieved a top speed of 302 mph, thus making it the fastest helicopter ever.
7. Fastest Snowmobile
Snowmobile also known as snow machine, is widely used in the western parts of the world. As a matter of fact, out of the total 1.25 lakh snowmobiles sold worldwide in 2016, more than 1 lakh of these were sold in the United States and Canada alone.
Having reached a mark of 211.5 mph, G-FORCE 1 designed by Canada’s G-Force division is the fastest snowmobile ever. The G-Force division has always been keen on breaking snow speed records and in 2013. At Bonneville’s wide open salt flats in Utah, G-Force 1 smashed its own former record of 210.8 mph by reaching an impressive 211.5 mph.
6. Fastest Motorcycle
Setting a 2-way average speed of 376.36 mph, the record for the fastest motorcycle in the world belongs to TOP 1 ACK ATTACK. This feat was accomplished in late 2010 during the Top Speed Shootout, conducted by Cook Motorsport’s at Bonneville Speedway.
The Ack Attack’s fastest 1-way speed was a mammoth 394 mph and this was the 3rd time in 4 years when the record for the fastest motorcycle was broken by Ack Attack. The record was confirmed and certified by the FIM officials and it was also included in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records.
5. Fastest Jet Engine Car
Fighter pilot Andy Green from UK holds the record for the fastest land vehicle in the world. In 1997, he drove THRUST SSC at an insane speed of 763 mph, over a distance of 1 mile in the Black Rock deserts of Nevada. In the process, it became the first automobile ever to officially break the sound barrier.
The 10.5 ton Car was powered by two Rolls-Royce spey turbofan jet engines, which developed a net thrust of 50k pounds, a power output of 110k BHP, which burned around 18 liters of fuel per second. Thrust SSC’s project director Richard Noble is currently working on Bloodhound Super Sonic Car, and Andy Green will aim to break the land speed record in 2020 and it would become the first land vehicle ever to cross the mark of 1000 mph.
4. Fastest Boat
SPIRIT OF AUSTRALIA holds the record for the fastest boat and also the fastest water vehicle in the world. In late 1978, Ken Warby drove it on the Tumut River in Australia, setting a mark of 317.6 mph.
The boat was designed by Ken in his kitchen table and built in his Sydney backyard. And it took him 8 years and 10 thousand (10K) dollars to build it. It was powered by a Westinghouse J34 jet engine, and the world’s fastest boat is now a permanent feature at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. Setting and breaking records on water is an extremely dangerous task.
Since 1978, there have been numerous attempts at breaking Ken’s record with no success yet. Truly, it was an amazing feat by Ken!
3. Fastest Airplane
When it comes to the fastest manned airplane ever, nothing comes close to the hypersonic rocket-powered NORTH AMERICAN X-15. This Airplane was operated jointly by NASA and the U.S. Air Force, setting numerous altitude and speed records in the 60’s.
In 1967, the X-15 piloted by Pete Knight reached a top speed of 4520 mph, which became the fastest speed ever reached by a manned aircraft. It registered an impressive Mach 6.72. The X-15 didn’t take off under its own power; instead it was carried up in the air by a modified B-52 bomber. To conserve fuel, it was air launched in flight at about 45,000 feet above sea level. The X-15 retired in 1970, but the program featured many notable NASA and US Air Force test pilots and one amongst them was Neil Armstrong.
2. Fastest Rocket Sled
On 10th of December 1954, Colonel John Paul Stapp from US Air Force marked his greatest achievement, driving the SONIC WIND 1 to set a top speed of 632 mph. This feat earned him the title of “the fastest man on earth”.
During the ride, he accelerated from 0 to 632 mph in just 5 seconds, subjecting to a force of 22 times gravity. This was the highest g force any human had endured to that time. As the sled decelerated from 632 to 0 mph in just 1.4 secs, John felt an extreme pressure of 46 times gravity. After the test, he was rushed to hospital. His eyes were bloodshot, fortunately he sustained no serious injuries.
This test proved to be very useful in determining the effects of extreme acceleration on human body and the data collected was used by the military to design safer ejection seats for high speed vehicles.
1. Fastest Spacecraft
On 26th May 1969, APOLLO 10 acquired a blazing speed of 24791 mph, while re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere, to become the world’s fastest manned vehicle ever. With 3 astronauts on board, Apollo 10 was the 4th manned mission in the US Apollo space program and the 2nd one to orbit the Moon.
The mission was a dress rehearsal for the 1st Moon landing, and tested all of the components and procedures, just short of actually landing. Apollo 10 completed this mission in less than 56 hours. This success of Apollo 10 mission enabled Apollo 11 to become the 1st ever spacecraft to land Humans on Moon, on 20th July 1969, as we all know!