The world's fastest wheelbarrow

It's about time the humble garden barrow had a page in the motorsport history books, thought Dylan Phillips...

- WORDS OLLIE KEW PHOTOS HUCKLEBERRY MOUNTAIN

“Is it like, y'know, riding a bike?” “Um, it's more like pushing a wheelbarrow. Except the wheelbarrow is trying to kill you.”

Dylan Phillips is the third land speed record holder I've had the privilege to interview, after road car speed king Andy Wallace and sound barrier smasher Andy Green. But Dylan's different – he built a certifiable straight line speed machine all by himself.

Bolting a 7bhp Honda SJ100 'Bali' scooter engine to an unsuspecting Haemmerlin wheelbarrow in a workshop buried in deepest Pembrokeshire, this softly spoken 38-year-old Welshman created a garden tool capable of tearing down the RAF Elvington runway at a certified 52.58mph average. Pray silence please for the fastest wheelbarrow on Earth. “I didn’t expect this to blow up like it did,” Dylan admits. “There are so many things going on in the news, you just don’t expect buggering about with a wheelbarrow to get any traction.”