Now this is different: a go-kart propelled by a custom-built pulsejet engine. See the Beast in action here.

His name is Robert Maddox, but professionally he calls himself the Crazy Rocketman. While the Rocketman is now in his 60s, he’s been fascinated with jet and rocket propulsion since he was 10. He’s constructed numerous cars, bikes, and motorcycles powered by pulsejet engines of his own design, including a bike for the Mythbusters television series, and he also offers engine plans and kits. (Check out his website here.) And now, just to show that it is never too late to have a fulfilling childhood, he built a go-kart propelled by his own valveless triple-pulsejet engine. With droll understatement, he calls it the Beast.

If you’d like to dig deeper into the hardware, Maddox has posted a walkaround video of the kart you can watch on his YouTube channel, which also features some of his other projects. As we can see in the walkaround clip, a considerable amount of thought and fabrication skill went into the kart’s construction. It’s a serious piece of engineering, and it includes his own instant starting system. We don’t know the machine’s potential top speed, and we’re not sure we want to know. (We suspect it’s excessive, and he’s had it up to 90 mph.)  In the clip we’re sharing below, we can see the Beast at speed on a dry lake bed, complete with a great big smile on the Rocketman’s face. Note that he’s driving while filming himself with a selfie stick. Enjoy the video.