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

Men have always wanted to do things the fast and easy way or to reach his destination at the soonest, fastest and easiest way. In addition people always want something new, something different, a new style. For these reasons, inventors keep on creating and finding ways to keep machines and vehicles faster, better and safer and stylish. Here are the fastest machines on land, on ice, and on water (surface and underneath) ever created by men.

Under the water

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

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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

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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.

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On land, ice and water

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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• World's Largest Machines Ever Built

For the fastest flying machines see

• World's Fastest Flying Machines Ever Built

See also

• World’s Longest and Largest Aircrafts

• World’s Largest and Longest Water Vessels