(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.
Scroll down for photos!
It is worth noting, that if this trend continues, someone will have a bit of an incident with one of these, then require a more conventional one ever after.
I bet if he got it registered and went down the highway, the cops wont complain to him aboot it
Looking at the second and third photos an engine upgrade may be due.
I live in the UK but haven’t seen our machine in action !!
What in the world it that thing on chains? Another jet engine?
Yep, he had several jets laying around. He also had a late 60’s Ford pickup with a 6.9 diesel that at one time was the worlds quickest diesel pickup. Plus a fiberglass body he built and never used…think 1968 Ford pickup funny car. The compressor I stopped to photograph had a steam whistle on a 10 foot pipe, you could hear it all over town.
The point is however that Colin Furze from the UK, to get the scooter into the record books had to comply with some criteria. One of them was that the scooter had to look like an original scooter with no modifications apart from an exhaust. This is why he does not have slicks and a smaller engine in it. This is why this one here is also not the fastest scooter in the world. The engine is too visible and it has slicks so it it is not a mobility scooter, its more like a tricycle.
If this guy gets hurt driving this thing would he have a leg to stand on ?