Not since Back To The Future III have we been so stoked about the idea of retro-futuristic steam-powered transportation: the British Steam Car Challenge aims to pit man, machine, and gaseous water against the 1906 record for land-speed steam-powered speed, about 128mph. Granted, this high-performance machine is still technically gas-powered, but the petrol is powering the steam drive, so it's a little different from locomotives of yore. Though this project was technically started in 1999, apparently Slough Heat & Power in Berkshire is providing a custom built gantry for steam production for the car's first real test in South Africa this coming June (then it's on to the salt flats). Nope, it's not really in the same league as the
JCB DieselMax that broke 350mph a couple months back, but steam power is the wave of the, um, past -- and don't you forget it.
