(Photos by Greg Rourke) – Yesterday we showed you video of a modified personal mobility scooter running 70mph with the help of a motorcycle engine and transmission. That was all fine and dandy, but it left us a little sore because it seems like the mobility scooter speed record should be here in the States. Unofficially, it is and Greg Rourke stumbled upon the story of the man and machine that has run harder and faster than the British one. How? One word: turbine. Second word: Pants crappingly awesome.
Here’s Greg’s account of the discovery of this contraption:
“After seeing the guys racing the scooter in England, I remembered a jet scooter I photographed a while back. The guy who owned, built, and drove it was a bit of a recluse, I had to promise him I wouldn’t tell anyone where his shop is. He saw me photographing a Detroit Diesel powered 600 CFM compressor in front of his shop and invited me to see the scooter. The jet engine he said was a small one used to start big ones. He claimed 80 MPH in the industrial park until the police suggested he not do that anymore. He’s the one legged dude in the photos, and has to be over 80. He designed and built the hydraulic jacking systems that moved the Cape Hatteras lighthouse a few years ago, if he says 80 MPH I believe him.”
Boom goes the dynamite. The international mobility scooter war is ON.
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