Skip to main content

Driving to dinner

A British man has set a speed record for the world's fastest item of furniture by driving a dinner table at 182km/h. The table comfortably beat the previous record of 147km/h set by a sofa in 2007. At its peak on one run the table hit 208km/h along the 500m drag strip although the vehicle's driver and builder said he felt he was travelling somewhat faster
February 21, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
A British man has set a speed record for the world's fastest item of furniture by driving a dinner table at 182km/h. The table comfortably beat the previous record of 147km/h set by a sofa in 2007. At its peak on one run the table hit 208km/h along the 500m drag strip although the vehicle's driver and builder said he felt he was travelling somewhat faster. Named Fast Food by its 47 year old builder, the Queen Anne styled table features the running gear of a 1994 Reliant Scimitar sports car, with a nitrous oxide kit added to boost its acceleration. The man expects to be listed as the current world record holder for fast furniture in the next edition of the Guinness book of records, assuming that no one will find the time to top his speed using an adapted sofa, bed or wardrobe. The man's previous records include building the world's smallest drivable car and the world's lowest car.

Meanwhile an American has set a new world land speed record for a lawnmower. The man managed to persuade his specially adapted mower to reach 153.6km/h during his record attempt. He set this average speed during two timed runs made within one hour of each other at the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, which has been the scene of many speed record attempts over the years. The American, Bobby Cleveland, beat the previous record of 139.2km/h set by a British man, Don Wales who is also a nephew of Donald Campbell and grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell, both of whom held many land speed records. Wales set his record at Pendine Sands in Wales, which has also been the site of several speed record attempts and where Parry Thomas lost his life in the 1920s during one such attempt. Cleveland had hoped to set a record of over 160km/h on his lawnmower, which complies with the official landspeed record requirements of being made primarily from standard lawnmower components. It is not clear however whether the mowers belonging to either Wales or Cleveland can actually be used for cutting grass.

Two key British speed records were set in the US last year. A steam powered vehicle hit an average of 223.75km/h at Edwards Air Force base in California, breaking a world record of 203km/h held since 1906 by a Stanley Steamer. And a British engineer broke the wind power speed record by clocking an average of 201.6km/h in his specially-built, missile-like vehicle on a dry lake bed bordering California and Nevada.

And in Germany a modified Trabant hit a speed of 235km/h at Rothenburger Airport, topping the previous record of 201km. The standard two-stroke Trabant had an engine design dating from the 1930s and offered an acceleration of 0-100km/h in 21 seconds. Production of the East German Trabant ceased in 1991, following German reunification.

Related Content

  • Brunei has a high road crash risk
    March 2, 2016
    Brunei’s road safety record needs to be improved, according to the Brunei Director of Land Transport Haji Supry bin Haji Ladi. There were four fatal road crashes reported in the country within one week of February 2016 alone. In a bid to improve road safety, a new campaign themed "Safe Roads, Safe Lives" has been held. Haji Supry attended the event and said that 90% of road crashes during the years up to the end of 2015 were from car-on-car collisions, while motorcyclists were involved in 1%. Bicycle and pe
  • Scotland’s new Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary
    December 23, 2015
    The new Queensferry Crossing under construction in Scotland will be the third landmark bridge spanning the Forth Estuary - Mike Woof writes When the new Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary opens at the end of 2016, it will be the third landmark bridge to be built spanning this short stretch of water. Lying alongside the existing road bridge and the historic rail bridge, this new structure will be as groundbreaking as the two earlier crossings were at the time of their construction.
  • ARTBA highlights US bridge issues
    May 10, 2016
    The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is calling for more bridge repairs in the US. There are still too many structurally deficient bridges in the country according to a recent analysis. This report states that while there were 2,574 fewer structurally deficient bridges in 2015 compared to the number in 2014, there are still 58,500 on the structurally deficient list. Worse still, at the current pace of bridge investment it will take at least 21 years before these bridges are all r
  • Dented pride
    June 13, 2012
    An Australian man has had to make a somewhat embarrassing apology to his father after crashing a treasured classic racing car. The man was competing in a car rally in Tasmania, taking over racing the Ford Capri after his father injured his back earlier in the competition. The father had warned his son neither to come second, nor to crash the car. However, one corner proved too much for the man’s ability and he lost control of the car as he roared around the bend at some 130km/h. The car left the road, flew