Pioneer 2M was a Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 land speed record

Land speed record

The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...

 car built in 1961 under the guidance of I. Tichomirov. The body was made of aluminum and the wheels of a magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

 alloy. It was powered by two gas turbine

Gas turbine

A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....

 engines (68 hp each at 50000 rpm) placed on either side near the driver's seat. In 1963 the sportsman and engineer J. Tihomirov achieved a speed of 311.419 km/h (193.506 mph) at the Baskunchak

Baskunchak

Lake Baskunchak is a salt lake of 115 km² in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, located at , about 270 km north of the Caspian Sea, and 53 km east of the Volga. Since 1997 the area is strictly protected as nature reserve....

salt lake and it became the fastest car in the Soviet Union at the time.