In a little over 50 days a land speed record may be broken on the salt flats of Utah. In an unusual twist though the Inspiration car will not attempt to beat the jet-powered Thrust SSC’s 1,200 km per hour.

This is a steam-powered record attempt.

Officially unveiled yesterday after years of development, Inspiration will use liquefied petroleum gas to turn a tonne of water into steam, hopefully powering it up to 280 km per hour. Currently the record stands at 230 kmph.

The Guardian thinks it’s a ‘flying kettle’. Popular Mechanics says it’s ‘Jules-Verne-meets-Batmobile’. And of course, there is an eco-aspect to this. The people behind the project say:

With growing public concern about the buildup of toxic and smog producing gasses produced by internal combustion engines, a trend is emerging toward more ecologically friendly technologies for such sectors as public and private transportation. …

With these issues in mind, the decision was made to create a vehicle that would set a new land speed record, incorporating new technologies to bring excitement to the arena of ecologically friendly technologies. In the process of setting the land speed record it is hoped that additional attention to green vehicle technologies will be generated.

“I’m not saying we’re all going to be driving steam cars but the technology could have other uses,” says engineer Matt Candy (Guardian).