Ed Shadle and Keith Zanghi wanted to break the 800 mph land speed record in the US. So how do you do that… ummm, maybe with a rocket car,

This rocket car is called the North American Eagle and is actually  powered by a 1957 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter’s 42,500 horsepower engine.

The jetcar is not a cheap one to drive. Using 160 gallons of gas a minute, a few minute run can will force you to put your kids, wife and pets to work just to pay your monthly gas bills.

Looks like a cool toy for anyone who can afford it and may have a death wish.

The pair above may have some competition for that land speed record from the Aussie Invader Rocket car. The Aussie invader rocket car is not small. The jet car is 55 feet in length and has a 10 ft. height tailfin…. definitely wouldn’t fit in my garage.

The Aussie Invader – featuring 300,000 horses of LOX / JP5 rocket power

From their site AUSSIE INVADER . COM

After seeing X-Prize winner SpaceShipOne, McGlashan, “The fastest Aussie on Earth,” wondered if rocket motors could propel him up to speeds of 1,609 km/h. So he called up SpaceDev, the company who provided the rocket motor technology for the world’s first
private-sector astronaut mission. He also enlisted the help of John “Ackers” Ackroyd, the designer of 1983’s land-speed-record-breaking car Thrust 2. They came up a wingless rocket-powered jet fighter on wheels.

OK, not all of us can either afford a jet car nor risk our lives for a few minutes of ultimate speed. Here a a few alternatives…

Strap the rocket to a cheap car and save millions on engineering and manufacturing.

 Create a tour bus that looks like a rocket, hey, this one can make you money

and there is the Baron Margo rocket car which is a motorcycle car that happens to look like a rocket to give you that ultra cool feeling.

Combining a car and a bike? this may be the wrong way to do it below.

Homemade motorcycle cars, well homemade as in created by individuals and not an auto manufacturer.  This one is in Italy and looks like someone took a bike and enclosed it. The tiny little side tires look like training wheels and really need to go. If it wasn’t for the training wheels, this bike would look really sweet.

This is the ecomobile, looks like the one above minus the training wheels

This bike car is pretty cool, looks like a really small 3wheeler.

Hawk Concept Car

The Hawk Concept car / bike was created by a designer from New Zealand – Alex Hodge. It is a concept car that combines a motorcycle engine with some features you find in cars such as more room, an enclosure for increased safety and high back seat.

The Venture enclosed 3 wheel motorcycle

Rocket bike car

The Baron Margo Rocket Car is a creative mix of bike / car and… a rocket. Now, I’m not sure if the rocket part of it really works. That would be a bit scary if it did, would not want to be behind him at a light.

the Rocket car

It’s odd that in 60 years of car companies building concept cars, not much has changed, they always seem really rounded, even when the styles where boxy, and always, very futuristic.

The flyboat, one very early concept that may not have even had any wheels. OK, not really a car, but I love this one.

Nazi Racecar

 1938 concept Phantom

Another vintage concept car, not sure what is is, but it sure must have been a cool ride back then.

1950 Futureliner from GM – kinda a bus, wagon and mack truck all rolled into one crazy car.

Buick Vintage Concept Cars from the 1950’s

Vintage Concept Car

1964 GM Stiletto, the look of the future?

1964 future car, not sure what they where thinking here because this is just plain ugly. Most Concept cars look sleek and hopefully cool, no matter what year, this one here looks like a bad Jaws movie coming at you. Jaws may be too cool for this one… OK,  how about a salmon swimming upstream at you? The front end just reminds me of fish… go figure.

1950ish Model D concept

1970 Porsche Tapiro

1980 GM Epcot

1988 GM SunRaycer – Arrival of the solar powered cars? guess we never saw that one happen.

1989 Solar Car, not made by a large auto manufacturer, I think, But still cool

2005 mercedes hydrogen car

2003 GM Hy Wire Concept

Mercedes Benz Formula One

Pontiac Solstice

 Here are a few more recent models

A Suziki Concept SUV from 2007

This one is awsome, this is the Mazda Taiki concept car, reminds me of ocean waves… you can see why I’m sure.

3 wheel car/bike?

Asian Concept from an auto show a few years back

1970 style Dodge Challenger concept

I guess this one may have been a bit disappointing, but a goot try none the less.

The Budweiser rocket car was built in 1979 and they planned to breakland speed records with a rocket car that could exceed the speed of sound. The Budweiser rocket car was supposed to be the very first land vehicle to break the sound barrier.

Stan Barrett drove the jet car on Dec. 17, 1979 and the rest is wrapped in controversy.  It seems no one knows if the vehicle broke the sound barrier or not. I must wonder where the speedometer was here, but the rumor is that no sonic boom was heard pointing to maybe, the sound barrier was not broken.