A rocket car is a land vehicle powered by a rocket engine.

Because rockets have the highest thrust/weight ratio of any jet engine, very large accelerations and high speeds are possible. Rocket engined drag racers are banned in many places due to the dangers and extreme performance that is possible.

History

• Max Valier, Austrian rocketry pioneer
• Friedrich Sander, rocketry pioneer
• Kitty O'Neil in 1977 recorded the quickest quarter mile elapsed time in of 3.22 seconds at 396 MPH and made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 MPH. This is in excess of the performance of more familiar Piston Engined dragsters.

Famous rocket cars

• Opel RAK.1, the first rocket car
• Valier-Heylandt Rak 7, the first rocket car with liquid propulsion
• Heylandt Rocket Car, see Arthur Rudolph
• Budweiser Rocket, the first vehicle (controversially) claimed to have broken the sound barrier
• Blue Flame, a vehicle that held the land speed record

See also

• JATO Rocket Car, an urban legend
• Rocket sled