Everard (right) and passenger Russell Shearman celebrating their world record. — dpa
LONDON: Using a three-wheel Bangkok tuk tuk he once bought late at night on Ebay, a man in Britain has broken the top speed for a person driving a motorised rickshaw.
On May 13, Matt Everard successfully broke the previous world speed record of 110kph for a person driving a tuk tuk, a three wheel rickshaw predominantly used in Asian cities to shuttle people around - and not something known for its high speeds.
Using the longest runway in Britain at Elvington Airfield in Northern Yorkshire, Everard was able to set a new record of 119kph - not bad for a open-top three-wheeler.
A Guinness Book of Records adjudicator was at the scene to promptly give Everard and his brave passenger a certificate as the new record holders.
The collector had pimped out the 1971 original's two-stroke 350cc engine with a modern 1,300 cc fuel-injected Daihatsu motor capable of 144kph, a five-month project he says cost him £20,000 pounds (RM108,000).
Everard said he bought the three-wheeler late at night online, but admitted he found it hard to explain the decision to his wife the next morning.
"Imagine explaining to your straight-talking Essex wife that, after she went up to bed one night, you ended up buying a Thai tuk tuk from a bloke on the Internet."
According to the Guinness World Records, the record must be set in a so-called autorickshaw capable of carrying at least two passengers on a bench behind the driver.
