Honda S Dream Streamliner
Honda may have built some rather epic Formula 1 cars
in times gone by but the accolade of the Japanese marque's fastest ever vehicle
has been taken by a speed demon powered by a tiny 660 cc engine.
Installed into the Honda S Dream Streamliner, this
tiny engine borrowed from the Honda S660 sports car sent the vehicle to an
average top speed of 421.446 km/h over the flying mile at
Bonneville, setting a new world record for a vehicle in its class. It then
average 421.58 km/h over the flying kilometer.
The Streamliner's engine is based around the S660's, it has been extensively modified. In fact, the cylinder block, pistons, crankshaft and valves were all customized to help the tiny engine pump out more than triple its standard horsepower figure. The lower block was replaced by one made of steel and the connecting rods were reinforced.
Prior to its record-setting run at Bonneville, the
team had to redesign the vehicle's canopy after its driver complained of a lack
of visibility during testing. Initially, it was hoped a record would be set at
Bonneville Speed Weeks but it wasn't. Instead, the Honda crew was invited back
to try and set a new benchmark and it did just that, thrashing the previous
record of 366.4 km/h.
