Christmas throwback: Autocar's Concorde 'road test' https://lnkd.in/daDPZ_bq Just over 20 years ago, Concorde completed its final flight. To celebrate, we're looking back to our 2003 Christmas road test. When it comes to driving in a straight line, few men have had so many short-lived, high-acceleration journeys, all planned to end abruptly at 240mph without sustaining injury. Such has been the preserve of that small band of chaps (and one chap-ess) whose privilege it was to drive a 185-tonne, 10-wheeled, three-legged skateboard down the tarmac's centre-line. The wonder of Concorde is that no one on board notices when - without a murmur or ripple - it accelerates through the sound barrier, past the 1000mph mark, to its supersonic cruise speed of 1350mph. Only the display panel tells the paying public what's happening In addition to the mph and Mach number. On the flight deck, the crew has all the usual aircraft instruments, plus a few more one would only expect to find in a military fighter. (Incidentally, just like the original Mini, there's a simple button for the starter.) In common with cars, Concorde is also missing the controls for airbrakes and flaps, neither of which are fitted to the supersonic aircraft. The complete wing structure (save where the wheels sit) is a fuel vessel. There are also two big under-floor fuel tanks and another one in the pointed tail cone. The modern Airbus is often credited with being the first fly-by-wire airliner. Not so. Concorde beat Airbus by 20 years. It sports fly-by-wire technology for the flying controls and the throttles.