Andy Green recently tested the rear-wheel-steered Mini on a skid pan: here’s his account of how he got on.

(The rear-wheel-steered Mini)

‘Rear-wheel steering? You must be mad!’ This is the reaction that a lot of people, including several respected academics, have had when they hear about Thrust SSC’s unique steering concept. After all, the most unstable vehicle known, the shopping trolley, is rear-wheel-steered, so it can’t be a good idea......... can it? It was to counter exactly this criticism that Glynne Bowsher, the car’s designer, built the rear-wheel-steered Mini to demonstrate that it is a stable vehicle - it’s actually easier to drive accurately in a straight line than a normal road car! But when Thrust SSC runs on the desert this Summer, it will be running on a low-friction surface - what will happen to the steering then?

To find out, the SSC team asked the Defence Test and Evaluation Organisation at Chertsey in Surrey to help. Part of the Defence and Experimental Research Agency which has already helped the project so much, Chertsey has a huge range of vehicle test facilities - they test everything from main battle tanks to McLaren F1 cars on their tracks. They have a large ‘slip pan’ which can be covered in water to produce a low-friction surface, which is where the Mini and I went to try and simulate the sort of handling surface that the SSC will experience in the desert.

(The Mini on the limit, still perfectly under control)

The initial plan was to find out where the limit of rear-wheel steering was, what happened at the limit and how I could recognise and control rear-wheel skids. There was only one problem - I couldn’t make the rear wheels skid! Even at the limit, with the front wheels sliding sideways in a turn or locked under braking, the rear wheels gave positive control all the time, leaving me nothing to investigate! Peter Bates, Chertsey’s Deputy Facilities Manager, came along for the ride and said afterwards: ‘We’ve seen a lot of vehicles on here, but nothing like this - the handling is amazing’. This adds to all the other evidence that shows that Glynne was right - this really is the best way to steer Thrust SSC.

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