The team that broke the world land
speed record for a steam-powered car
visited Spirax Sarco in Cheltenham
in April as part of its UK tour. As well
as being one of the team’s main
sponsors, Spirax Sarco played a key
role in its success by providing advice
and high performance valves.

The company provided control
valves and positioners for steam
turbine and boiler prototype testing.

Tests revealed that the boiler design
had a power output too low to enable
the car to reach record-breaking
speeds. Spirax Sarco identified the
problem as insufficient heat transfer
area within the boiler and helped to
redesign the units.

The car was fitted with two
control valve and positioner sets, one
for controlled venting of steam
during boiler start up, the second to
control the flow of superheated steam
to the turbine – in effect acting as the
car’s ‘accelerator’. C-Series valves were
selected for their performance in
extreme conditions.

The British team broke its first
record, achieving an average speed of
139.843mph on two runs over a
measured mile. A second record was
set for a measured km – achieving an
average speed of 148.308mph on two
runs, with a peak speed of 159mph.