A new vehicle arrives to break an old record THE early days of motoring produced a three-horseless race, as it were. To start with, electric and steam-powered vehicles outsold those with newfangled internal-combustion engines. However, the invention of the starter motor and the longer range of the petrol- and diesel-powered models eventually gave those vehicles the edge, and electric and steam-powered cars drifted into obscurity. Now, with the benefit of advanced electronics and lightweight batteries, electric cars are staging a comeback. Could steam cars do the same? This week, a group of engineers known as the British Steam Car Challenge have been completing the initial test runs of a 7.7-metre (25-foot) steam car which they hope will travel at more than 274kph (170mph). Early next year they will ship it to America for high-speed testing. Eventually, they hope to beat the land-speed record for steam cars. The existing record, 205kph, was set in 1906 by Fred Marriott, driving a souped-up version of a production vehicle called a Stanley Steamer. To beat it, the Challengers have to make two high-speed runs within an hour, which means turning their vehicle around rapidly, refilling it with water and firing up […]