World's Fastest Land, Water and Ice Vehicles Ever Built

Under the water

1. USS Albacore (AGSS-569): Fastest Underwater Vehicle in the World

At a speed of 25 knots on the surface and 33 knots when submerge, USS Albacore (AGSS-569) is the fastest

underwater vehicle in the world. This vessel was a unique research submarine that pioneered the American

version of the teardrop hull form of modern submarines. Her keel was laid down in 1952 and was launched in

1953.

On land and water

2. Aquada: Fastest Amphibious Car in the World

The Aquada is the fastest amphibian vehicle ever built, equipped with HSA (High Speed Amphibian) technology

from the British company Gibbs Technologies. On land, it is capable of a maximum speed of 160 km/h or 100 mph

and 50 km/h or 30 mph (26 knots) on water. The vehicle is equipped with a mid-mounted V6 petrol engine, which

drives the rear wheels. It is a high speed amphibious vehicle. This unique machine is developed in the UK and

Detroit and is expected to go on sale in the U.S. this year at a price of $85,000.

On land, ice and water

3. Bob Windt's Hovercraft: Fastest Hovercraft in the World

The World's Hovercraft Speed Record on September 18, 1995 was set by Bob Windt of the US at a speed of

137.4 km/h or 85.87 mph. Windt a former aeronautical engineer at McDonnell Douglas, is the founder of Universal

Hovercraft and is considered to be "the godfather of personal hovercraft by the Learning Channels Junkyard Wars.

He designed the world's fastest hovercraft that holds the Guinness Hovercraft World Speed Record that was

established in Portugal in 1995.

On Ice

4. Bentley Continental GT: Fastest Car on Ice

This car, the Bentley Continental GT is the current world's fastest car on ice breaking the previous record of

296 km/h (184 mph) achieved with a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. This amazing car is equipped with a 6.0L, twin-

turbocharged W12 engine, producing 552 hp (412 kW) and with a top speed of 198 mph (319 km/h). In 2007, a

Bentley Continental GT Speed driven by four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen broke the world speed

record on ice on the frozen Baltic Sea near Oulu, Finland. It averaged 321.6km/h (199.86 mph) in both directions

on the "flying kilometer", reaching a maximum speed of 331 km/h (207 mph).

On water surface

5. Spirit of Australia: Fastest Water Vessel in the World

The Spirit of Australia is the world's fastest water vehicle. Ken Warby, an Australian motorboat racer currently holds

the Water speed record of 317.60 mph or 511.13 km/h. This was set in Blowering Dam in New South Wales, Australia

on 8 October 1978.

On the Ground

6. Hayabusa: Fastest Motorcycle in the World

Hayabusa by Suzuki is the fastest motorcycle in the world. Its 1300cc engine puts out 175 horsepower and has a

top-speed limit of 189 mph. Hayabusa means Peregrine Falcon and is also known as the GSX1300R in some

countries. It is a hyper sport motorcycle introduced by Suzuki in 1999. It has a 1340 cc (81.7 cu in) inline-4 engine

and was consistently tested as the fastest production motorcycle in the world. The 2008 model has a MSRP of

US$ 11,999.

7. Kenworth T400 Bandag Bullet: Fastest Truck in the World

Bandag Bullet is the world's fastest truck by achieving a record breaking exhibition run at the Queensland International

Air Show. The Bandag Bullet smashed the world record for a one kilometer run. The eight ton Kenworth T400-based

Bandag Bullet ran a standing start kilometer in 18.6 seconds with a terminal speed of over 300km/h. It ran that fast because

it have two twin-turbo, nitrous oxide injected V8 diesel engines with a total capacity of 24 liters (1500 cubic inches), which

produce 1100bhp and 5600 ft/lb of torque each.

8. SSC Ultimate Aero: Fastest Car in the World

SSC Ultimate Aero with the fastest recorded speed of 413 km/h or 257 mph is currently the world's fastest production

car. It is a Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp and with a base price is $650,000. Verified in 2007 by Guinness World

Records, the SSC Ultimate Aero takes the lead as the fastest car in the world beating Bugatti Veyron.

9. TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse): Fastest Conventional Train in the World

The French TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) is the fastest conventional train in the world, using powered metal wheels

riding on metal rails. In April 2007, the TGV broke its own 1990 record with a new speed of 574.8 km/h 357.18 mph.

The name means "high-speed train" in French. It also holds the world's highest average speed for a regular passenger

service.

10. JR-Maglev: Fastest Non-conventional Tran in the World

The Japanese JR-Maglev is the fastest non-conventional train in the world, having achieved 581 km/h (361 mph) on a

magnetic -levitation track. The record was achieved on December 2, 203 with a three-car train set. This record is the

world's speed record for railed vehicles in a manned vehicle run.

11. Thrust SSC: Fastest Land Vehicle in the World

The Thrust SSC (Supersonic Car) is a British-designed and built jet-propelled car. This amazingly swift vehicle holds

the World land Speed Record, set on October 15, 1997. It achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h or 763 mph and became the

first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier. The car was driven by Andy Green in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada,

USA. It was powered by two afterburning Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, as used in British F-4 Phantom II jet fighters.

It is 16.5 m (54 ft) long, 3.7 m (12 ft) wide and weighs 10.5 tons (10.7 t). The twin engines developed a thrust of 223 kN

(50,000 lbf) and burned around 4 Imperial gallons per second (18.2 l/s or 4.8 US gallons/s). Transformed into the usual

terms for car mileages based on its maximum speed, the fuel consumption was about 5,500 l/100 km or 0.04 mpg U.S.

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