Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Aussie Invader 5R can accelerate to 1,600 km/h in just over 20 seconds

Achieving supersonic speed in the car is a task of incredible difficulty. Nonetheless, there remain some people with the appetite and the means to attack a problem like this, and Australia’s fastest man Rosco McGlashan is one of them.

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Rosco McGlashan wants to make the new speed record among land vehicles with the Aussie Invader 5R rocket-car, currently being built in Australia. McGlashan will reportedly pilot the 16-meter long nine-tonne steel-framed vehicle to its target top speed of 1,000 mph (1,609 km/h).

Aussie Invader 5R was created by McGlashan in collaboration with renowned rocket designers Bob Truax and Peter Beck of New Zealand’s Rocket Lab. It is equipped with a single bi-propellant rocket motor, producing 62,000 lbs of thrust (about 200,000 horsepower).

Aussie Invader 5R can accelerate to 1,600 km/h in just over 20 seconds.
The car is capable of breaking the World Land Speed Record. Credit: Aussie Invader

According to the calculations of the developers, the Aussie Invader 5R can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 1.1 seconds. Developers believe that this unique machine is capable of breaking the World Land Speed Record and accelerating from 0 – 1,000 mph (1,600+ km/h) in just over 20 seconds. In that time, the car will burn 2.8 tonnes of liquid propellant and oxygen at more than 1000 degrees Celsius. At full speed, it will travel a mile in around 3.5 seconds.

Currently, Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, when it achieved a speed of 763 mph (1,228 km/h).

Aussie Invader 5R can accelerate to 1,600 km/h in just over 20 seconds.
It is the 16-metre long nine-tonne steel-framed vehicle. Credit: Aussie Invader

Aussie Invader 5R runs on four 35-inch wheels – made of solid aluminum with no tires – each weighing 140 kg (309 lb) and rated for rotational speeds up to 10,200 rpm. It will take more than 5 km to reach top speed, and when it comes to slowing down, more than 13 km will be required to stop. The deceleration will be achieved through a multi-stage deployment of high-speed hydraulic air brakes, mid-speed parachutes, and low-speed disc brakes.

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The location for the record is yet to be finalized; however, initial test runs will likely take place in the Queensland or Western Australian desert.

In recent years, another purpose-built land speed record machine has been built in the UK – Bloodhound SSC – but now the European project has been abandoned for financial reasons.

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Blurbs

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