![Man Builds Mustang Out Of Lamborghini, World Goes "Huh?"](http://cache-03.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/02/126x100_stangallardo_1_01.jpg "Man Builds Mustang Out Of Lamborghini, World Goes "Huh?"")
Dec 19, 2007 03:15 PM
3,569
Enter your username and password.
Detroit, 1:06 PM
Tue Feb 9
22 posts in the last 24 hours
Just weeks after Evel Knievel's death, one of the daredevil's biggest fans has declared his intention to recreate Evel's most famous jump, in a limousine. "Mad" Mike Hughes, who declares himself "The Most Famous Limousine Driver in the World," already holds the Guinness World Record for the longest jump in a limo. Hughes has enlisted the help of an expert team of rocket engineers and has started work on the Skylimo, which he hopes will clear Snake River Canyon, a distance in excess of 1/4 mile.
The 635kg limo-cum-rocket will be powered in the same way as Knievel's 1974 Skycycle, a 77-gallon tank holds water heated to 500 degrees, under 500 pounds of pressure. Capable of producing 4000lbs of thrust for 4 seconds, the Skylimo will be launched from a 100 foot, 45-degree ramp. Hughes hopes it will reach a height of 3,500 feet and a top speed of 350mph.
Knievel's famous attempt to jump the canyon in 1974 was cut short by the parachute cover sheering off, resulting in its premature deployment.
Hughes hopes to complete the Skylimo by next summer, and if the Snake River Canyon attempt proves successful, he may move on to make an attempt on the Grand Canyon. Any money made through the attempts or by selling the Skylimo will be put towards the opening of a museum dedicated to Evel Knievel, the creation of which is Hughs' life-long dream. [Via RelicEmporium]
Contact information for this author is not available.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Start a new discussion