Pioneer 2M

Pioneer 2M on display at Riga Motor Museum.

The Pioneer 2M was a Soviet Group VII land speed record[1] car built in 1961 under the guidance of sportsman and engineer Ilya Aleksandrovich Tikhomirov.[2] Based on the 1960 record car Pioneer 1, the body was made of aluminum and the wheels of a magnesium alloy. It was powered by two gas turbine engines (80 hp each at 50000 rpm) placed on either side near the driver's seat. On 1 September 1963, Tikhomirov achieved a speed of 311.419 km/h (193.506 mph)[3] for the measured kilometer at the Baskunchak dry salt lake, setting a Group VIII record and making it the fastest car in the Soviet Union at the time.[4]

Pioneer 2M continued to set records in the Soviet Union until 1972.[5]

  1. ^ Soviet Cars (retrieved 25 November 2015)
  2. ^ Soviet Cars (retrieved 25 November 2015)
  3. ^ Information notice by the car in Riga Motor Museum
  4. ^ Soviet Cars (retrieved 25 November 2015)
  5. ^ Soviet Cars (retrieved 25 November 2015)