(AP) DENVER Tycoon adventurer and record-setting balloonist Steve Fossett has his next big challenge in sight: an assault on the land-speed record.
Fossett, during a luncheon Wednesday at the Denver Press Club while promoting his autobiography "Chasing the Wind," said he plans to smash the 763 mph record, rocketing up to 800 mph in a jet-powered vehicle on a Nevada dry lake bed sometime next year.
"This is surely the most dramatic of all world records, the oldest and most famous record in world motorsport," Fossett said in a news release. "I am very, very excited by the opportunity to meet this challenge -- to drive through the speed of sound and reach 800 mph. This is a great goal -- and we have the car to achieve it."
The car Fossett is touting is a dart-shaped, 47-foot-long, 9,000-pound vehicle. Fossett says it looks like a jet airplane, without the wings. In fact, it will take engineering skill to keep the 45,000 horsepower craft on the ground. The jet engine is taken from an Air Force F-4 Phantom fighter.
The effort will be based in Reno, Nev., with record attempts scheduled from July through October.
Fossett says he is seeking a title sponsor, and is arranging television documentary and publishing rights.
Fossett has an international reputation for his record-setting sailboating, flying non-stop around the world, and solo ballooning exploits.
Fossett, during a luncheon Wednesday at the Denver Press Club while promoting his autobiography "Chasing the Wind," said he plans to smash the 763 mph record, rocketing up to 800 mph in a jet-powered vehicle on a Nevada dry lake bed sometime next year.
"This is surely the most dramatic of all world records, the oldest and most famous record in world motorsport," Fossett said in a news release. "I am very, very excited by the opportunity to meet this challenge -- to drive through the speed of sound and reach 800 mph. This is a great goal -- and we have the car to achieve it."
The car Fossett is touting is a dart-shaped, 47-foot-long, 9,000-pound vehicle. Fossett says it looks like a jet airplane, without the wings. In fact, it will take engineering skill to keep the 45,000 horsepower craft on the ground. The jet engine is taken from an Air Force F-4 Phantom fighter.
The effort will be based in Reno, Nev., with record attempts scheduled from July through October.
Fossett says he is seeking a title sponsor, and is arranging television documentary and publishing rights.
Fossett has an international reputation for his record-setting sailboating, flying non-stop around the world, and solo ballooning exploits.
