Jaguar and Graham Bell Developing Jet Pack to Break Speed Skiing Record

By Adam Pockross - March 4, 2016

graham bell jaguar

You’ve seen speed skiing, right? You know, the sport where brave skiers don a speed suit, a Rick-Moranis-in-Space-Balls-looking helmet, some 240cm skis, and then bomb down the hill in hopes of breaking Italian speed skier Simone Origone’s 156-mph Guinness World Record? Well, Graham Bell and Jaguar’s attempt at The Fastest Man on Skis record is a little different than that. Mostly because it requires a jet pack.

Bell, a five-time British Olympic skier and frequent BBC action sports host, is partnering with Jaguar, not just for their expertise in developing the jet pack, but also for a lift. In order to save fuel, a Jaguar XE AWD is going to pull Bell up to launching speed, at which point he’ll let go of the tow-rope and let the twin-micro jet pack take over, hopefully propelling him to at least 160 mph.

If you think it sounds crazy when I describe it, wait till you hear Bell’s statement about the project:

“As lead technical partner in the attempt, Jaguar will provide the aerodynamic expertise to develop the Iron-Man-style suit I need, as well as helping me acclimatize to speed and external forces using high performance vehicles including the Jaguar XE AWD – designed to provide maximum traction in adverse conditions including snow and ice.”

Iron Man on skis; now that’s a novel concept.

As you can see in the video below, the team is currently training at speeds up to 100 mph, readying for a 2017 blast off. We’ll definitely be keeping our eyes on this madness, so stay tuned!