62-Year-Old British Engineer Sets Non-Rocket-Powered Acceleration Record with Steam-Powered Motorcycle

On June 26, Graham Sixes, a 62-year-old British engineer, announced that his steam-powered motorcycle, "Nature's Force," had set a new acceleration record for non-rocket-powered motorcycles at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. The vehicle accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.4 seconds and reached a speed of 310 km/h over a quarter-mile distance in 5.5 seconds. Currently, only one rocket-powered motorcycle holds a faster quarter-mile time (4.976 seconds). The power system of "Nature's Force" features a compact burner capable of running on either kerosene or vegetable oil. Heat generated by the burner is channeled through a manifold into six combustion tubes, heating a pressure vessel containing 120 liters of deionized water to an operating temperature of 250°C and a pressure of 580 psi. The system currently delivers approximately 2.9 seconds of thrust, and the team is working to extend this duration beyond three seconds, focusing on optimizing fluid flow to minimize turbulence and cavitation effects. Development of the motorcycle began in 2022, and it has now progressed to its fifth iteration, with ongoing refinement still underway.