Page 9 - FHM - Australia (December 2019)

ON THE ROAD | Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+

From a branding perspective, it’s clever since the top speed is
technically in the name, but the Chiron did a little more than 300mph
clocking in a staggering 304mph (490kph). Aside from the super-
strong styling gel you’d need to maintain a dapper hairstyle at these
speeds, you’d also need to take out a second mortgage just for the fuel.

BY RAIL | JR-Maglev
Speed is relative and by that we mean, the speed of the subject is relative to its body
length. Size and how fast something can move changes when you factor in these
dimensions. To date, the fastest organism on Earth is the South Californian Mite
which has a top speed of 322 body lengths per second. To put it simply, if any person

could run at 322bl/s they’d be able to run a mind-boggling 1300mph (2092kph).

IN THE SKY | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Strangely enough, it is not on, but off the ground where man

seems to make up the most speed breakthroughs and what’s better
than a military jet with a dope name like Blackbird? The Lockheed
SR-71 Blackbird is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic
reconnaissance aircraft and the true king of the sky capable of reaching
vomit-inducing loss-of-consciousness speeds of 2190mph (3530kph).

LAND-SPEED | Thrust SSC

Powered by two jet engines and driven in
Nevada by Andy Green from the United Kingdom
back in 1997 the Thrust SSC was the first car
to break the sound barrier setting a record
speed of 763mph (1228kph). Although no new
land-speed records have officially been set yet
the Bloodhound Land Speed Record (BLSR)
team recently unveiled what they’ve dubbed “the
world’s fastest straight-line car” which literally has
a jet engine so powerful it’s said to be capable of
reaching speeds over 500mph (805kph). For now,
they’re still running preliminary tests with a focus
on slowing down and stopping because of course,
when you’re going at supersonic speeds you’ll need

a plan to come back to a complete stop - safely.
The BLSR team will attempt a new land-speed
record in early 2020 - good luck!

MAN-MADE

Mother Nature is indeed spectacular but man has

devised some pretty fast machines also and here we
get to marvel at them in all their glory.