Speed demon Carolynne Campbell has built a 300mph rocket car in her back garden that goes from 0-100mph in less than half a second.
The fearsome motor is 10 times more powerful than Lewis Hamilton's F1 car.
Its four hybrid rockets are fuelled by nitrous oxide and bio-fuel and produce a total 8,000lbs of thrust - equivalent to the power of a Red Arrows jet fighter.
Carolynne, 57, has spent £40,000 and five years designing and building the 400kg monster from scratch. She had to apply for an explosives licence before firing up the engines - which reach an incredible 2,500 degrees C.
Carolynne started the dream project with partner David Knight, 64, after seeing a dragster car fitted with a rocket at the Santa Pod race track, in Northants.
But David was forced to take a back seat after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, leaving designated driver Carolynne to do the bulk of the construction.
The full-time carer, from Rushden, Northants., who is trained in graphic design, has been tinkering with cars since she was a child.
She managed to muddle through with the advice of David who has been involved in drag racing and building cars for 30 years.
She said: 'I've mucked around with cars and engines since I was a kid, and I studied design, so between us, we worked it out.
'Our original model had just one engine but I thought it was a bit slow, so instead of just one rocket, we've fitted four.'
The car - called 'Laffin Gas' - costs £500 to take for a spin, using 35kg of nitrous oxide.
Carolynne's hybrid rockets are fired into life by a small firework that ignites nitrous oxygen, splitting the oxygen and nitrogen into separate gases.
The oxygen burns a solid fuel, rape seed oil, that is soaked into dense cardboard tubes.
Carolynne can throttle up and down and shut the rockets off quickly by controlling the flow of liquid nitrous into the rocket.
The chassis of the car is made of aeroplane grade aluminium, titanium and chromium molybdenum steel. It is brought to a halt with two parachutes.
Constrained by the cost, Carolynne only puts Laffin Gas through its paces four or five times a year on a quarter mile dragster track at the Shakespeare County Raceway, Warwickshire.
She has so far reached speeds of 200mph but hopes to hit 300mph on their next trial in January - which would make her the fastest woman in UK.
Carolynne is unfazed at driving at high speeds.
She said: 'I get nervous before I drive but only because we always have spectators and I worry the rockets won't work.
'Its actually quite a smooth ride and not too noisy.'
Financing Laffin Gas - which would have cost £250,000 if built by professionals - has been a struggle, especially after David was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2004.
The mechanical engineer has since undergone seven operations to remove the tumour which have damaged his short term memory and impaired his movement.
The money for materials and fuel has come from restoring and selling old cars and motorbikes.
Essential safety equipment, such as a helmet and a fireproof suit has been donated by well wishers.
Carolynne said: 'Working on the car and raising the dosh to buy parts has helped me take my mind off David's illness.
'I used it as a form of stress relief to cope with visiting him in hospital every day.'
Carolynne hopes to be able perform with the rocket car in the future, touring Europe.
Rocket woman builds 300mph jet car in her back garden
Formula Zero: As Hamilton gears up for the Grand Prix, McLaren unveil the radical F1 car of the future
With Lewis Hamilton poised for glory this weekend, the McLaren driver's team has unveiled its spectacular take on the F1 car of the future.
The sleek Formula Zero Racer would race on steep, transparent tracks, allowing spectators a clear view of the action - even from below.
The concept car, designed by Mercedes, is one of nine ambitious designs entered in the LA Design Challenge 2008.
Nine Southern Californian studios will go head to head in the contest to develop the best racing car for ‘Motorsports in 2025’.
Formula Zero Racer is designed to mix the thrill of F1, the dynamics of bobsledding and the efficiency of yachting.
Mercedes says the design is reminiscent of the Mercedes Benz racing heritage of the 1930s.
But Formula Zero, geared to form part of F1’s green revolution, would be loaded with high-tech features to extract the maximum thrust from electric motors, with an aero-efficient solar skin and an aerodynamic rigid sail.
So while Hamilton will be hurtling towards the finish line on Sunday, racing stars would also score vital points for energy efficiency in the revamped sport of 2025.
Each team would be allocated the same amount of stored energy, with winners determined not only by time but also energy efficiency.
Couple offered sex with child for used car
A sordid San Antonio couple is accused of trying to trying to trade sex with the woman's 5-year-old daughter for an apartment, a used car and child care for her 10-month old daughter.
Jennifer Richards, 25, and her married boyfriend, Sean Michael Block, 40, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Stein Nowak on Friday. Richards is charged with using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor. Block is charged with distributing child pornography.
Nowak ordered Block held. Richards' detention hearing was delayed until Tuesday, the San Antonio Express-News reported Sunday.
According to an affidavit unsealed last Tuesday, the investigation began when an informant told the FBI about a text message allegedly sent by Block reading: „Nice piece 5 yrs old belongs to my gf and she wants to sell it.“
Richards and Block crafted a deal that, in addition to the apartment and used car, included child care for Richards' 10-month-old daughter, whose sexual service the couple intended to sell later, Rex Miller, the FBI's lead agent on the case, testified.
The couple had also hoped to blackmail the informant, Miller said.
Richards „was of the belief that these sexual interactions would be a positive experience for (her daughter) and that Richards would receive sexual gratification“ from watching, according to the affidavit.
Authorities said both children are no longer in Richards' custody and that neither child was sold for sex.
After reviewing computers the couple used and listening to taped conversations, Miller determined Block and Richards were making further plans to abduct, rape and „carve up“ a teenage runaway.
Block allegedly sent an e-mail with a link to a Russian child pornography site, according to the affidavit.
Ronald Guyer, Block's lawyer, acknowledged the severity of the charges. But Guyer told the judge that there was no evidence that the behavior progressed beyond Block's fantasy.
„There has been no action on his part,“ Guyer told Nowak.
Richard's attorney did not immediately return a call or e-mail left Sunday by The Associated Press seeking comment.
The couple worked at the Cheesecake Factory at North Star Mall, where he was a bartender and she was a waitress.
Court records show that Block's now-estranged wife Sarah Block filed for a protective order earlier this week on behalf of the couple's 14-month-old child. Her lawyer said she filed for divorce Friday.
Car-Shaped Bluetooth Mouse
The Estilo GT Bluetooth mouse is equipped with two LED headlights that lights up when the mouse is plugged in (this feature can be switched off).
The mouse also allows you to switch between a 500, 800 or 1600dpi resolution by clicking the left and right buttons simultaneously.
Features:
* On/Off switch design
* Mouse resolution is easily to change by clicking the Left and Right buttons simultaneously
* Works with the Bluetooth enabled notebook or use Tiny USB Bluetooth V2.0+EDR Adapter as a recevier
* Interface: Bluetooth
* Resolution: 500/1000/1600dpi
* Frequency: 2.4GHz
* Receiving Distance: 10M
* Frame Rate: 3200fps
* Support Window XP/Vista, Mac 10.2 or above
* Dimension: 114 x 55 x 36mm
* Weight: 64g
The Estilo GT Bluetooth Mouse ($38) is available over at USB Brando.
Bluetooth Cassette Tape Adapter
Features:
* Bluetooth audio tapes adapter specification: Version 1.2, Class 2, 10meters
* Car charger input: DC 12V-24V
* Car charger output: DC 5V
* Normal charge time: more than 2hrs
* Talk time: 5 hrs
* Standby timers: 120 hrs
* Build-in the rechargeable lithium battery
* Dimensions: 100mm x 64mm x 10mm
* Net weight: 40g
The Flexii Bluetooth Cassette Adapter is available from Vavolo for $39.99, or you can get it from Uxcell for $34.99.
