Earlier this month, we caught wind of Jesse James' plan to set a new land-speed record in a hydrogen-powered vehicle. According to a press release issued by Spike TV, the daredevil motorcycle enthusiast was successful in his quest, hitting a top speed of 199.7 miles per hour on a run in the El Mirage dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert in California.

Though ultimately successful, the run didn't go off without a hitch. Apparently, the car needed three passes before the crew was able to keep enough blowing dust out of the cockpit and feed enough air into the monster 740-horsepower hydrogen-fueled 572 cubic-inch Chevrolet V8 engine.

The previous mark for a hydrogen-burning car was set by BMW in Germany a few years back with its H2H race car. James seems pleased with his accomplishment, saying, "This, I honestly believe, is world-changing. We can't rely on gasoline forever. I'm paying it forward." Modest, isn't he?

Want to see the whole thing go down? Tune in to Spike TV to watch Jesse James is a Dead Man on Sunday, August 9th at 10 pm Eastern. Spoiler Alert: Jesse James does not die in this episode.

[Source: Spike TV]

Famous motorcycle builder and all-around celebrity Jesse James plans to attempt a new world record top speed run for a hydrogen-powered vehicle later this month on a dry lake bed somewhere in California. The actual car being used is a former land speeder called the Dees-Milodon Engineering-Davis B Streamliner, which had previously attained speeds as high as 237 miles per hour at Bonneville.

Replacing the car's old Chrysler powerplant will be a brand new 572 cubic inch Chevy crate motor that's been converted to run on gaseous hydrogen and is force fed by twin turbochargers that add 50 pounds of boost. The fuel will be stored in 10,000 psi tanks sourced from hydrogen specialists Quantum Technologies.

If you think piloting a ticking time bomb land speed record car from the 1960s that's carrying a ton of compressed hydrogen and has been beefed up with a fully modern and ridiculously potent powerplant is crazy, that's what Jesse's going for. The actual event will be recorded as part of the upcoming series, Jesse James is a Dead Man.

[Source: AutoWeek]

We have good news and bad news to report regarding the British team that hopes to set a new land speed record for a steam-powered car. First, the bad: The car completely failed to operate during an important testing session that took place last week. The good: The record, which currently sits at 127.659 miles per hour, has been around since 1906, so we think their bid to establish a new mark is safe.

The reason cited for the vehicle's failure is a problem with the car's water filter. Apparently, too much sediment was allowed into the intricate plumbing, which led to a clog somewhere in the system. While a breakdown is a normal part of a day's work when working on prototype vehicles like this, the fact that it happened in front of a ton of media outlets was a big setback for the team. No matter, a run up towards 170 mph is still the team's goal, and that's likely to take place later this year in Bonneville, barring any more major disasters of course.

[Source: Wired]

Has the time finally come to end the hundred-year drought on steam car design? Perhaps not, but the world may at least get a new entry in the record books, as the British Steam Car Challenge team has successfully put their land-speed record car to the test. The aforementioned record was set all the way back in 1906 by Fred Marriott, who drove a modified Stanley Steamer to 127.659 miles per hour. Early testing of the British Steam Car has been promising, though nothing up near the stated goal of 170 miles per hour has yet been attempted. The crew has plans to ship their car to Edwards Air Force Base in California early next year for official timed runs.

The car itself, appropriately painted up in British Racing Green, uses 12 boilers that get their heat from liquefied petroleum gas. These boilers heat 10.5 gallons of water to 750-degrees F, then nearly 2 miles of plumbing inside the car takes that pressurized steam to a two-stage turbine spinning at a stratospheric 13,000 RPMs.

While LPG is a gas that burns clean, relatively speaking of course, the land-speed car's system is a total-loss design, so it's not nearly as efficient as it could be. We wonder, though, if a new record might kick-start development into the good old steam engine and help it find a place in our ever-changing automotive world.

[Source: Wired]

A custom-built vehicle natural gas-powered vehicle, the Streamliner, is aiming to beat the current land speed record of 458 mph (731 km/h). The team, led by Roger Lessman, was trying to beat it in Bonneville Salts, but needed to postpone their attempt until next year because of bad weather conditions.

Lessman said, "I wanted to do something different; quite frankly I thought it would be cool to go really fast with alternative fuel. There is a perception out there that alternative fuels are lower performance, and I had a point to prove."

A 572 cubic inch, 1,500 horsepower engine is used to power the Streamliner.

Related:

• 210 km/h: BMW biodiesel-fuelled motorbike sets new land speed record
• Wanna to see the JCB Dieselmax and enjoy a backhoe rodeo? You're in luck

[Source: NGV]

You remember the JCB Dieselmax right? It's the streamliner which is powered by a couple of large diesel engines. Way back in August of '06 we brought news of their record-breaking 317 mph run, later broken again at 328 miles per hour and finally set at 350 mph. In November of that same year we showed you the book covering the event(s). If you have been wanting to see the record-setting vehicle in person, click here for the details. You'll notice that in addition to laying eyes on the big-yellow speed-machine you can see a big-yellow wheel-standing backhoe dragster. Of course you wouldn't want to miss the "Dancing Digger show" where machines will take part in some big-yellow choreographed unity. The highlight of the event is likely to be the "Backhoe Rodeo", a skills-challenge where you can pilot your own big-yellow backhoe in competition for some prizes. No mention was made of whether any of those prizes will be big or yellow.

In other (but related) news, JCB seems to be looking for yet another land-speed record with their Dieselmax. With the vehicle already clocked at over 350 mph, perhaps you'd think that their next challenge of 450 mph would be a cake-walk. According to Louise Ann Noeth, you'd be wrong. She said, "It was a damned hard slog for us, a seasoned group who intimately knew the vagaries of the sport and salt, but 350MPH to 450MPH is like going from your first kiss to giving birth."

If Noeth is right, their next record attempt sure sounds painful, but hopefully their "specially developed high-speed Goodyear tires and exotic green fuel" will give them the competitive edge that they need. Watch these pages for any updates on their big-yellow progress.

[Source: Motor Press Guild]

The Buckeye Bullet 2 and Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 were not the only vehicles out at the Bonneville Salt Flats recently. Last week, the "Rocket Ranger," a modified Ford Ranger pickup, set a new land speed record as the World's Fastest Diesel Pickup Truck. The Rocket Ranger's average speed in the run was 215.091 miles-per-hour, which is almost two mph higher than the previous record (213.583) in the "C/Diesel Truck" class.

The "Rocket Ranger" has a Ford Powerstroke/International 6.0-liter diesel engine with Hypermax intercooled series turbochargers, injectors and Mach 7 performance module, dual SPAL USA 12" high-performance cooling fans and a ZF 6-speed transmission, according to SPAL. The Rocket Ranger might return to the Flats this fall to try and beat the new record. The truck has been able to go as fast as 222 mph, but not (yet) in the full series of tests.

Related:

• VIDEO: Ford's 207 MPH fuel cell land speed record run
• OSU Buckeye Bullet 2 tops 200 MPH at Bonneville

[Source: SPAL USA]

Click on the bare Fusion for a high res gallery from the first track test

Last week Ford gave us the first look at the fuel cell-powered Fusion that they will be taking out to Bonneville next month to try and establish a top speed benchmark for production bodied fuel cell vehicles. This past weekend a group of twenty engineers and technicians from Ford and Roush took the Hydrogen Fusion 999 to the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, OH for its first track test as a complete vehicle and they invited AutoblogGreen to stop by.

The Fusion 999 project was born in early 2006 when Ford Fuel Cell Engineering Manager Mujeeb Ijaz approached Roush about doing a project to demonstrate the performance potential of a fuel cell-powered vehicle. Although they initially envisioned using a Focus body shell, once the analysis started it quickly became clear they would need something larger, so they switched to Fusion.

Continue reading the story of the Fusion 999's gestation and see video of the car after the jump.

AutoblogGreen got a call from Ford this afternoon to let us know about a special new project they are working on. The team behind the HySeries Drive Edge is teaming up with Ohio State University to create a special fuel cell powered Fusion. This fall the Fusion XV1 will traveling out to the Bonneville Salt Flats to make a run at the land speed record for fuel cell vehicles in the production class.

Ohio State currently holds the world record for electrically driven vehicles at almost 315mph with the Buckeye Bullet and they are lending their Bonneville experience to the new project. The OSU team will be providing the motor and fuel cell technology they are using on the second generation Bullet and the Ford engineers are doing the systems integration into a production body shell.

The Fusion XV1 will look pretty much like a standard Fusion but with aerodynamics optimized for a maximum speed run on the salt. The car is currently being built at Roush Engineering facility, and ABG will be bringing you more exclusive updates on the progress of the project over the coming weeks and months. If all goes according to plan Ford and OSU will be setting parallel records this fall with Buckeye Bullet 2 and Fusion XV1 in the unlimited and production classes.

Update: The motors are coming from the OSU but the Ballard Power Systems is supplying the fuel cells.

[Source: Ford]

In the interest of full disclosure, let me first tell you all that I am a huge Buckeye fan. I do live in Ohio, mind you, and I grew up in a family which always had a full supply of Ohio State paraphernalia to choose from. Please, do me a big favor, and let this one mention of the state of Florida be the only one... no comments on that subject if you would be so kind.

Back to the story at hand: The Buckeye Bullet 2. Perhaps you recall the electric land speed record that Ohio State was able to capture with their 700 horsepower AC driven streamliner. Perhaps not, click here to refresh your short-lived memories! News comes from Jalopnik that the crew is back at it with a hydrogen-powered streamliner. Well, hydrogen fueled electric streamliner, really. Click here for more. Will they be able to break their last record of around 315 mph? Stay tuned!

[Source: Jalopnik]