IT may be nicknamed the Beastie, but there is nothing cowering or timorous about the self-designed machine that Graeme Obree will use as he attempts to break the human-powered world land speed record this autumn.

A project some 18 months and countless hours burning the midnight oil in the making, the newly completed creation built by the Scottish cyclist and former world champion had its first big public unveiling in Edinburgh yesterday.

With the finishing touches now in place, the 47-year-old Obree will challenge for the IHPVA World Land Speed Record at Battle Mountain, Nevada, in September in a bid to surpass the 82.819mph set by Canadian cyclist Sam Whittingham on Varna Tempest in 2009.

While Whittingham set his record in a state-of-the-art, computer-modelled, carbon fibre-shelled machine, Obree estimates his cost only a little over £1000 to make, the majority constructed in the kitchen of his small flat in Saltcoats.

Obree's bike "Old Faithful" – used when he broke the hour record in 1993 – was famously made using old washing machine parts. The Beastie utilises some equally innovative engineering: not least a set of rollerblades he found in a charity shop.

Then there is the "magic saucepan" that "turned six eggs into firemen". It's a tale told by Obree with his trademark infectious enthusiasm. "I was on a health kick and thought: 'I'll boil some eggs, let them cool and have an egg salad later,'" he recalled. "I dashed out to go watch a band and left the cooker on. The water in the pan boiled away, the eggs started to smoke and the fire alarm went off. When I got home the door had been kicked in and there were six firemen standing in my flat."

The saucepan, apparently none the worse for its ordeal, now has pride of place in its new incarnation as a shoulder rest. The steel frame of the Beastie, meanwhile, came primarily from a bashed up old bike.

Obree has endeavoured to use as many recycled components as possible. "That was important to me," he said. "I do believe that we consume far too much of our planet and are a throwaway society."

But perhaps keenly aware of his label as the "eccentric" and "maverick" of the cycling world, Obree is keen not to dwell too much on the left-field elements.

The design, which he described as "the rebirth idea I first had in the 1990s before my gap decade", is a teardrop shape, cleverly modelled to accommodate the shoulders as the widest part of the body. Obree lies face down with his head at the front, pointing in the direction of travel, and feet in the narrowest part at the rear. He is then encased in an aerodynamic shell casing, requiring him to breath through a small tube.

"I can hardly see where I'm going," he said, cheerily. "Seriously, the amount of concentration required is huge. Because you are so close to the ground the reaction time is twice as fast as on a normal bike. It feels really twitchy in terms of keeping it in a straight line.

"Breathing through a tube, it's like being a deep sea diver doing a workout. I'm locked in and bumping around so all I can see is this blurry white line on the road."

He is displaying a few Beastie related war wounds, including a cut to his forehead and bruised hip. "The guys tried to launch me with the lid on, but they couldn't hold on and I went cabump," he said, mimicking a high-speed spill. "It's not the safest activity in the world, but I went out and saw the motorcycle racing at Knockhill the other week and you see these sidecar guys hanging on to a wing at 120mph. Afterwards I thought: 'You know what, this isn't so bad . . ."

His record attempt in Nevada will take place over a four-mile course with the top speed measured in a 200-metre area which, if all goes to plan, he will pass through in less than three seconds. He will also have a crack at breaking the British record of 64.34mph set by Olympic gold medallist Jason Queally at Battle Mountain in 2001.

Obree, sponsored by Skyscanner, will go head-to-head with 40 other teams from September 9-14. "There are more than just me as this mad person on the planet – there is a pile of us," he said. "Some are lone sharks who build their machines in their garages and come with camper vans, then others that are proper, professional teams with commercial backing."

Between then and now, Obree will be working on what he has dubbed the engine of the machine: himself. "I need to get my power up and trim some fat," he said. "It's a push-pull arrangement rather than traditional pedalling which is something I didn't realise at the start. So, it uses different muscle groups and will require some specific training."

The nickname the Beastie was actually coined by six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy. "I was going to call it Pie in the Sky because there were a few cynical people going: 'Yeah, that's right Graeme, I'll believe it when I see it,'" he said. "But then Sir Chris text me to say: 'I can't wait to see the Beastie'. I thought: 'That's a great name'. So all credit has to go to him."

After all is done and dusted in Nevada, his next project will be a self-penned book titled A Survivor's Guide To Depression. It is his hope that he can help banish the stigma of mental health by documenting the circumstances of his own life.

"I want to give people the benefit of my experiences and the journey I had coming back from that," he said. "It will deal with fear, resentment and anger. I want to write a book that will slightly challenge people as well as give them hope."

Another ambition is to continue to inspire young people with his boundary-pushing endurance feats. "It's a win-win situation: if I break the record that's great, but if I don't then it still sends the message that it's okay to have a go and give it your best.

"You do get some great questions from school kids," he added. "They ask me things that adults never do such as: 'What's your biggest fear?'. For me, that's sitting in my chair in an old folk's home when I'm 90 and thinking: 'I should have done more.'"