Awesome Fast

Electric pencil sharpeners are plenty fast. But say you have 100 pencils to sharpen. Shaving a second or two off of each pencil can add up. Current Concept wanted to see how quickly a pencil could be sharpened by rigging up an off-the-shelf sharpener to various power tools. That exposed sharpener mechanism looks terrifying once it gets up to speed.

Max Verstappen showed off his new Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 car in spectacular fashion. Zooming around Silverstone’s 5.8 km (3.6 mi) Grand Prix Circuit, he was pursued by the Dutch Drone Gods and their custom drone that flies at up to 350 km/h (~217 mph). Drivers David Coulthard and Liam Lawson helped with some trial runs before the big test.

We’ve seen a standing desk on wheels, but its driver needed to keep pace with it. This desk can drive much faster because its passengers are seated and wear safety harnesses. Noel Miller’s high-speed desk lets him interview guests while hooning about. In this episode of Hot Laps, he sat down with Donut’s James Pumphrey to talk about his life and career.

At a speed of 30 MPH, a skateboard wheel spins at about 5000 RPM. The guys at the Waterjet Channel wanted to see how quickly they could get a wheel to spin under the pressure of their 60,000 PSI waterjet. After realizing that ordinary plastic wheels wouldn’t hold up, they milled their own out of aluminum.

Because of drivetrain limitations, the fastest reverse drive was just 53 mph. Thanks to electric motors, that record has been smashed. The Rimac Nevera hit a reverse speed of 275.75 km/h or 171.34 mph. Since the Nevera’s drivetrain has no gears, it is capable of moving backward or forward at crazy speeds. It’s the icing on the cake after the Nevera broke 23 other records.

The fastest car we’ve ever experienced was a dragster that launched from 0 to 60 mph in about two seconds. Tom Scott got behind the wheel of AMZ Racing’s Mythen, an electric vehicle that holds the world record for EV acceleration – 0 to 100 km/h in a mindblowing 0.956 seconds. Tom didn’t quite hit that number, but he still accelerated insanely fast.

Most go-karts have a frame made from metal. But Doctor D.S. shows us how it’s possible to make a homebrew kart using a wooden shipping pallet and a 200cc gas engine. He still had to use metal for the axles and mechanicals, but it’s still an impressive build. We’d love to see how fast it goes on something besides grass, though.

This incredible footage shows athlete and Olympic gold medalist Kjeld Nuis breaking the world record for the fastest speed ice skating ever. He achieved his 103 km/h (64 mph) top speed skating on a frozen lake in Norway, inside a specially-designed enclosure to shelter him from wind resistance.

The guys from Grind Hard Plumbing Co. have made some crazy custom vehicles, including a tricked out Barbie Power Wheels Jeep. Now they’ve equipped a shopping cart with a 125 hp motorcycle engine and dual powered rear axles. After an initial failure, they went back to the drawing board to improve its reliability. Driving footage starts around 32:30.

While we’ve seen bowling balls fly faster, this is the first time we’ve seen someone bowl a strike from a fast-moving car. Back in 2019, pro stock car driver Aric Almirola and pro bowler Jason Belmonte pulled off the fastest human-thrown strike while zooming around Charlotte Motor Speedway at 140 MPH.

Scooters don’t get much more awesome than Pipermoto’s J Series. Created by bike customizer John Piper, this handcrafted scooter not only looks amazing, it’s perfectly balanced and crazy quick. It’s powered by a 690cc KTM LC4 Duke engine that makes 67 hp and zooms from 0-to-60 mph in 4.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 120 mph.

ProjectAir has been working on a jet-powered R/C race car with the goal of breaking a speed record. In this video, he tested his jet car’s speed and stability on a race track. He didn’t push it anywhere near the limit yet, but he did race it against Major Havoc’s jet-powered go-kart. We love the sound this thing makes when it spools up.

Throughout its 70+ years, the Chevy Corvette has been one of the fastest American-made cars you can buy. But can a battery-operated toy Corvette keep up with the real deal? Joel Creates and his pals loaded up a Barbie Corvette with powerful electric motors and batteries, then took it to the Great Lakes Dragaway to race alongside four real Vettes.

James from Project Air likes to make things that go fast. Recently, he produced a series of experimental builds to see which method of propulsion would make the fastest possible LEGO vehicle. Which will hit the top speed? Multiple LEGO motors, rocket engines, or a brushless motor from an R/C sports car?

Zooming down a drag strip inside of a plastic trash can seems like a terrible idea. Regardless, that’s what speed freak Chris Rollins did. In his quest to set a new world record, he built a motorized tricycle that fits inside the can and outfitted it with a 12 hp Honda clone engine. We can only imagine how terrifying it is to drive.

Vehicles that roll on tracks are generally built for their terrain-handling capabilities and not their speed. But rctestflight managed to achieve both with this machine, a direct-drive snowcat driven by electric skateboard motors. With its skinny tracks installed, the custom-built R/C vehicle can hit speeds up to 50 mph.

We were convinced this video was sped up, but it’s not. What you’re about to witness is the crazy speed that an electric model car can hit when placed on a twisty, slotless car track. The description doesn’t say if the Tamiya Mini 4WD car has been modified in some way, but we’re betting it’s been tweaked. And then there’s night mode.

After tweaking his ankle, Sur Ronster needed a better way to get around than on crutches. So he reached out to his pal Domo to put together a mobility scooter. But this isn’t your granddad’s Hoveround. This insane ride has a full suspension and a Surron Storm Bee 22.5 kW dirt bike motor powered by 72-volt batteries.

Scot Burner has perfected the art of driving backward at a high speed. In June 2022, he set a Guinness World Record for the fastest mile driven in reverse, achieving the feat in 1-minute, 15.18 seconds. 53 mph might not seem quick, but remember that cars only have a single reverse gear. Scot explained his motivation on 30 Second Docs.

There are many faster ways to get around than walking, but Shift Robotics wants to improve that too. Their Moonwalkers shoes let you walk naturally while increasing your speed up to 250%. They’re far beyond ordinary roller skates, with the smarts to move with your gait and to stop naturally. You can even climb stairs in them.

We’ve seen Cassie, the Ostrich-shaped robot strut her stuff before. Now the speedy automaton has set a record for the fastest 100-meter dash ever run by a bipedal robot. With a time of 24.73 seconds, she’s no Usain Bolt, but it’s still an impressive achievement for the engineers from Oregon State University.

Jake Laser wishes he could run as fast as Usain Bolt. But he’s never going to achieve that goal without some mechanical assistance. So he got to work figuring out the best way to increase his running speed through a series of experiments with jets, a windsurfing wing, low-friction shoe soles, and lots of practice.

When engineers need to test missile components without launching actual missiles, they test them on a rocket-powered sled. Holloman Air Force Base is home to a test track where they fire hypersonic sleds at speeds up to Mach 8.6 – about 6599 mph. They’ve also figured out how to stop and recover them quickly.