Wind Powered Vehicle Hits 126 MPH, Breaks World Record

It took 10 years, but Richard Jenkins — a British engineer from Hampshire — has broken the land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.

The Ecotricity Greenbird, on the dry plains of Ivanpah Lake just south of Las Vegas, hit a record breaking 126.1 mph. A speed which is 10 mph faster than the previous record which was set by American Bob Schumacher in 1999, driving his Iron Duck vehicle.

“It’s great. It’s one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it’s almost too easy,” Jenkins told the BBC. He went on to say that “things couldn’t have been better.”


The Greenbird is made of carbon fibre composite and powered only by the wind.

The designers say it’s a “very high performance sailboat” but one that uses a solid wing instead of a sail to generate movement. “Greenbird weighs 600kg when it’s standing still,” said Mr Jenkins. “But at speed, the effect of the wings make her weigh just over a tonne.”


Due to the shape of the craft and the high speeds, the wings also provide lift. Good for aircrafts, bad for cars! To compensate for this, the designers have added small wings to “stick” the car to the ground, in the same way Formula 1 cars do.


Ecotricity Greenbird smashes the world record (5;09)...