A functional lawnmower just documented 152.8 mph on a paved airstrip, and the machine can still trim your lawn afterward. Elliott Loe and his collaborators at the Ziptied YouTube channel built the vehicle around a scratch-built chromoly tube chassis, a motorcycle engine, and an electrically powered mower deck. The 152.8-mph peak exceeds the commonly cited prior figures, while the 147.3-mph two-way average remained pending certification at the time of reporting.
The Build
A 45-pound tube frame and a Sam’s Club body shell form the foundation of one of the most unlikely land-speed machines in recent memory.
The bare chassis weighs 45 pounds. Fitted with the powertrain and running equipment, the complete mower comes in at approximately 450 pounds.
Body panels came from a 1990s MTD Tradesman lawnmower originally sold through Sam’s Club. The engine is a 988cc inline-four pulled from a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R, producing more than 160 horsepower in stock form and supplemented by a 50-horsepower nitrous shot.
The cutting deck is electrically powered and sourced from a push mower. That detail is not cosmetic: retaining a functional mowing system is what separates this vehicle from a motorcycle wearing costume bodywork, and it is what keeps the build relevant to lawnmower land-speed classification.
The Run and the Record
A reported timing slip puts the peak at 152.8 mph, but the record claim carries an important qualifier.
The run took place at the ECTA Arkansas Mile, a paved speed-focused engineering event organized by ECTA Motorsports, which holds open competitions for cars, motorcycles, tractors, and motorhomes.
A reported timing slip documents the 152.8-mph peak. Land-speed certification requires runs in both directions to reduce the influence of wind and directional course effects; the resulting two-way average came to 147.3 mph, which was still pending formal certification at the time of reporting.
Tony Edwards’ Hayabusa-powered “Mowabusa” previously averaged 143 mph at Elvington Airfield in the UK, a widely cited prior benchmark in the category. Honda’s Mean Mower V2 claimed a 150.99-mph single-run figure, but its Guinness World Record was for 0-to-100-mph acceleration at 6.29 seconds, not top speed. Those are not equivalent claims.
You also need to account for what the course was actually doing to the machine. Loe reported that the Arkansas Mile surface is rough enough that the mower, which has no suspension, became airborne two or three times per run. At 152 mph, that stops being a curiosity and becomes a stability and control problem.
Where This Fits
Honda’s 2014 Guinness attempt set the template; the Ziptied build follows it without a factory engineering department.
Honda’s original Mean Mower averaged 116.57 mph during a 2014 Guinness World Records attempt, using a custom 4130 chromoly chassis, a 1,000cc V-twin motorcycle engine, and a working cutting deck. That effort established a recognizable pattern for the category: purpose-built frame, motorcycle powertrain, functional mower equipment.
If certification confirms the 147.3-mph two-way average, the Ziptied mower could establish a new benchmark for functional lawnmower land-speed racing. If it does not, the documented 152.8-mph run still stands as a notable piece of grassroots fabrication, built with chromoly tubing, a Sam’s Club body shell, and apparently no shortage of nerve.
