The fastest CO2 cars and where you can find information about them. Learn what CO2 powered cars are and about some of the car competitions where you can find them.
What is the fastest CO2 dragster?
It's hard to say which of the CO2 powered cars is the fastest. Rules vary between sanctioning bodies and are often changed year to year. While Australia, New Zealand, and Britain have started their own events, the fastest time in the world have all been recorded at America's own Technology Student Association Dragster Design Challenge.
We will talk about the fastest high school entry, the fastest middle school entry and the transportation modeling competition that hold the record for the fastest speeds.
Dragster Design
The original CO2 car competition, cars can take any shape as long as they meet the requirements for weight, wheel design, and axle distance. These cars most closely resemble designs used to break top speed records. Drag is measured in a wind tunnel at the event.
Fastest High School Entry: BP
0.952 seconds
Drag resistance: 11g
Tyler Marshal
Bloomsburg Area High School
Bloomsburg, PA
TSA 2006
This design used a cone-shaped nose and flat sides with a tapering rear end below the CO2 cartridge.
Fastest Middle School: Funnky Flames
0.834 seconds
Drag resistance: 8g
Mitchell F.
2004's middle school competition had some of the fastest time on record, including this orange and green dragster. It has a flat, sloped front and an upward-sloped back with flat sides. Although less curvy than the BP, this car tests show it generates much less drag.
Transportation Modeling: C38
1.158 seconds
Brian Ward
Arapahoe High School
Centennial, CO
2004
The transportation modeling competition uses a different vehicle theme each year. 2004's theme was school buses which allowed builders to make designs similar to the dragster class. The C38 is shaped much like Funnky Flames, except rules mandated that it have a square rear end. Wheels for this category were small, inboard units like one would see on a Hot Wheels car, helping reduce drag.
Take a look at our other article What are CO2 powered cars and find out more about the fastest CO2 cars.