Aussie Invader 5R ready to test

[Rallye Sport]

Rosco McGlashan is back in the race to be the world's fastest man on wheels after a tax problem.

After nine years of blood, sweat and tears, a local WA daredevil has finished building a car he plans to eventually drive faster than the speed of sound.

Rosco McGlashan OAM has built the Aussie Invader 5R vehicle in Perth, with aims of setting a new supersonic land speed by reaching Mach 1.4, or more than 1600km/h.

The car has a single bi-propellant rocket motor producing an estimated 62,000 pounds of thrust, or about 200,000 horsepower.

McGlashan claims the 9.2-tonne car will be able to reach the staggering speed in just over 20 seconds - by which time it will burn 2.8 tonnes of propellant.

However, McGlashan and his team aren’t planning to break the record until 2020.

Building the car was stage one in a three-stage process.

Aussie Invader 5R.
Aussie Invader 5R.Picture: Max Read Photography
McGlashan and co will now move onto static engine ground tests in California’s Mojave desert.

“Successful tests of this engine will see us leap ahead with my team’s ambitions to build and drive the world’s fastest car,” McGlashan said.

The group has started a new fundraising campaign where people can upload a selfie along with their donation at supersonicselfie.com, with the picture being affixed to the car’s exterior for the record-seeking runs.

McGlashan has had a long and successful drag racing career and has previously broken the Australian land speed record.

He has also travelled at 1026km/h in his Aussie Invader III vehicle in 1996.

The current land speed record is 1228km/h, set by the British Thrust SSC (supersonic car) in October 1997.

Sam Jeremic. West Wheels 4-5 August 2018.