Two mechanics from the Isle of Man have had their custom mobility scooter certified as the world’s fastest after it hit 174 km/h (108 mph) on a quarter mile test track.
David Anderson and Matthew Hine actually made their record-attempting run in late 2014 but it has only just been certified by the Guinness World Records and a video of the high-speed mobility scooter published online.
For the Guinness World Records to certify a mobility scooter eligible for the world record, it has to be based around an existing, commercially available unit and from the outside, must appear like a traditional mobility scooter. Beneath the skin however, builders have free reign to perform any modifications they please, including the fitment of a new engine. In this case, an 80 hp motorbike engine was fitted.
According to Anderson, “We took a ‘Days Strider’ mobility scooter and a racing go-kart chassis and re-designed the chassis to fit the dimensions of the scooter and the engine … Wheels and tyres were taken from the go-kart as the original scooter wheels were only rated for 8 mph. The engine was taken from a Suzuki 600cc Bandit.”