After struggling for more than a month with frustrating technical problems, the British Steam Car Challenge broke the land speed record for a steam-powered car Tuesday at Edwards Air Force Base in eastern Kern County.

Driver Charles Burnett III achieved an average speed of 139.8 mph on two runs over a measured mile, the team reported Tuesday. The old record of 127 mph, set by Fred Marriott in a Stanley Steamer, had stood for more than 100 years.

On Tuesday, the 25-foot-long car that some have dubbed "the fastest teakettle in the world" peaked at 151 mph as it generated a tail of fine dust on the dry lake bed at Edwards.

The new international record is subject to official confirmation by the FIA, the sanctioning body, the team said.

"It was absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed every moment of it," Burnett said of the two successful back-to-back runs. "We reached nearly 140 mph on the first run before I applied the parachute. All systems worked perfectly ... The second run went even better and we clocked a speed in excess of 150 mph."

The FIA requires that the return run take place within 60 minutes of the first run. The times of the two runs are then averaged to obtain the official recorded speed.

Weighing three tons, the British Steam Car is fitted with 12 boilers containing nearly two miles of tubing.

Demineralized water is pumped into the boilers at a rapid rate and the steam is superheated to about 750 degrees Fahrenheit which is injected into the turbine at more than twice the speed of sound.