This Man Speeds by at 261 kph on a Homemade Water Rocket Trike

One man took inspiration from a childhood science project and is making global headlines for the stunt. Daredevil Francois Gissy made a giant bottle rocket to propel his homemade water rocket trike. He used the craft to zip through the Circuit Paul Ricard at Le Castellet in France. The rocket was powered by nothing more than rainwater and ingenuity. Gissy reached a top speed of 261 kph (162 mph). He went 0 to 100 kph in just 0.55 seconds. 

Gissy himself describes the trike as "basically a big water rocket."  Just as you would put water in a soda bottle with compressed air, Gissy uses those same principles. Filling the tank was the hardest part. Gissy had to fill the tank by hand, making trips to and from his rainwater reserves over 76 times. He slowly poured each drop in from a kitchen pot so as to not lose a single drop. After closing the valve, Gissy said the trike was "ready to run."

The water trike hit 145 kph, 219 kph, and 245 kph during initial testing phases. The average time for acceleration came in at 50.39 meters per second squared. Gissy dubbed the trike the "eco-friendly dragster"

This isn't Gissy's only international stunt. In 2014, he set a world speed record on a rocket-propelled bicycle. The completely naked bicycle offered the driver little protection and he made headlines for his stunt. He went from 0 to 333 km/h (207 mph) in just 4.8 seconds. In an interview with New Atlas shortly after the record-breaking run, the self-described "madman" said "in the moment it is scary but as soon as you stop, you also realize how amazing that was! You cannot describe it, you have to live it."

But at such fast speeds, we're perfectly fine with letting Gissy live it out for us.