On Tuesday 25 August 2009 Charles Burnett III successfully broke the land speed record for a steam powered car at Edwards Air Force Base in California with an average speed over the two runs of 139.843mph and reaching a peak speed of over 150mph on the second.  The record was the world's longest standing world land speed record at 127.659mph and was set in 1906 by American Fred Marriott at the wheel of a specially built Stanley Steamer. 

Mr. Burnett is also a regular participant in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run (LBVCR) with his 1903 Stanley (steam) Runabout, nicknamed ‘Kettle' - the same name as the land speed car, which has a more sedate top speed of just 21mph, and will be once again participating on the world's longest running motoring event on Sunday 1 November.

“On behalf of the organisers and sponsors of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run I would like to offer our congratulations to Charles and his team on bringing this record to Britain,” said LBVCR Event Director Roger Etcell.  “The fact that this record has stood for so long is amazing but the engineering talent and determination to succeed that Charles and his team demonstrated is equally amazing.  In the early 1900s steam and petrol, along with electric powered vehicles were vying to see which would power the new generation of automobile, with petrol and the internal combustion engine becoming the preferred choice.  The annual LBVCR has over 550 entries of which 18 are steam powered, including Charles Burnett's Stanley Steamer, and 3 are powered by electricity and the event is a great way to see this wonderful variety of pioneering vehicles on the open road.”

Charles Burnett said after his successful world record run: "It was absolutely fantastic I enjoyed every moment of it. We reached nearly 140mph on the first run. All systems worked perfectly, it was a really good run. The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph. The car really did handle beautifully. The team has worked extremely hard over the last 10 years and overcome numerous problems. It is a privilege to be involved with such a talented crew, what we have achieved today is a true testament to British engineering, good teamwork and perseverance”

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CLICK HERE to go to the British Steam Car Challenge website