A motorcycle engineer has set a new world record in Llanbedr after becoming the first person to drive a remote control car at over 250mph - faster than a McLaren F1 and a Bugatti Veyron.

Stephen Wallis, 44, spent around £2,000 over eight months designing and building The Mach Reaper out of drone parts, 3D-printed components, carbon fibre and aluminium.

The model weighs 20lbs, is around 3ft 6ins long, and was constructed in his home garage in Rugby.

Earlier this year he achieved the fastest-ever speed recorded by a remote control car after hitting 234.71mph at Llanbedr Airfield.

Last month he returned to Llanbedr to break his own record by hitting 250.67mph. Two weeks later he did the same again, reaching a staggering 256.47mph.

Stephen said: "At these speeds everything becomes difficult - aerodynamics, tyres, electronics and reliability all have to work together.

Stephen Wallis, 44,, with his remote control car, The Mach Reaper, which he drove at over 250mph. Photo: Stephen Wallis / SWNS
Stephen Wallis, 44,, with his remote control car, The Mach Reaper, which he drove at over 250mph. Photo: Stephen Wallis / SWNS (Stephen Wallis / SWNS)

"To achieve the goal, and then return just two weeks later to go even faster, is something I'm incredibly proud of.

"The conditions were good on the day and there was little wind - so nobody can claim it was wind-assisted either.

"It took me about eight months to build and was a case of tweaking the successful features of my previous car The Beast.

"I made the chassis as narrow as possible and reduced the amount of drag while using bigger motors which didn't get as hot.

"I haven't verified it with Guinness World Records yet as I still want to go even faster.

"I know it's a record though as they already verified my last attempt. I just want to keep raising the bar.

"The pressure of reaching 250mph has gone, which is a nice feeling.

“Over the remaining two events this season I'll be working to see just how much further we can push the world record."

The milestone was achieved at a ROSSA (Radio Operated Scale Speed Association) speed event on 14 June.

His fascination with remote control cars began when he was just eight-years-old and inspired him into engineering.

But it was only when his 13-year-old son Rory began taking a recent interest in them a couple of years ago that he went about designing the fastest RC car ever made.

Stephen said: "My interest in remote control cars began when I was aged eight so I've come a long way since then, it kickstarted my route into engineering.

"It was one of those cars connected to a wire so to get one without a wire aged 12 was an absolute game changer.

"I got into racing and tinkering with them and I can thank them for sparking my interest in engineering in the first place that led to the job I'm doing today.

"My son started getting into remote control cars after I visited a friend who had one and we became aware of videos of people trying to get them going as fast as they could."

Rory has developed his own high-speed RC car and recently achieved 194mph, making him the world's fastest RC speed-runner under 18.