LAND SPEED AND ENDURANCE RECORD CARS


I first saw a land speed record car up close, when Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America Sonic 1 was on display at a local car dealer as part of the Goodyear promotional tour in 1966. At the time, it was the fastest land vehicle in the world, having just broken Breedlove's own record by going over 600 mph. I was captivated by the duel with Art Arfons, the futuristic look of these cars and their sheer size. I present my small collection of land speed record cars driven by men who dared push the limits of speed here on earth.

1923 Fiat SB4 'Mephistopheles': Mephistopheles or Mephisto is the demon from Faust literature and German folklore for which the car received its name because of the tremendous noise coming from its unmuffled engine. Built in 1923 by Englishman Ernest A.D. Eldridge from a Fiat SB4 racing car chassis and a WWI surplus Fiat A.12 aero engine. Eldridge set a speed record in the car at Brooklands in 1923 for the standing ½ mile and in July 1924 set a new World Land Speed Record for both the flying kilometer (146.013 KPH) and mile (145.89 MPH) at Arpajon, France. The last land speed record attempt made on a public road.
Model by BRUMM 1/43

1927 Sunbeam Mystery 1000 HP: The Sunbeam 1000 hp record car was the first car to achieve a speed of over 200 mph. Powered by a pair of Sunbeam Matabele 22.4 litre aircraft engines, on 29 March 1927 Henry Segrave drove the car to a new land speed record of 203.79 miles per hour. Seagrave was later knighted for his third land speed record achieved in 1929. A contemporary of Sir Malcolm Cambpell, Seagrave was killed in 1930 setting the water speed record.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1929 Irving-Napier 'Golden Arrow': Powered by a massive 23.9 litre W12 Napier Lion VIIA aeroengine which produced 925hp, the Golden Arrow was the first aerodynamic land speed record car. Golden Arrow was built for Maj.Henry Segrave to reclaim the land speed record for Britain. In March 1929, Segrave attempted a record run on Daytona Beach in Florida before a massive crowd of over 120,000 spectators. Segrave set a new flying mile record of 231.35 mph. Two days later a challenger for the record crashed and was killed, Daytona Beach was closed, denying Segrave the opportunity to make additional attempts at higher speeds. Unfortunately Segrave never got another chance to drive Golden Arrow, losing his life attempting to set a water speed record in 1930. Golden Arrow was designed by Captain John Samuel 'Jack' Irving, a Sunbeam engineer and Segrave's racing team manager. He and his wife Louisa Ann are the couple in this diorama with Segrave.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1935 Campbell-Railton Blue Bird: Sir Malcolm Campbell set the world land speed record nine times between 1924-1935. His final record was set in September 1935 at the Bonneville Salt Flats at an average two-way run speed of 301.337 mph. The Reid Railton designed Blue Bird was completely redesigned after the record breaking attempts of 1933. A supercharged Rolls-Royce R V12 aero engine of36.7L was installed in place of the Napier Lion engine used in the original Blue Bird. Blue Bird's potential speed required the move of record attempts from Daytona Beach to Bonneville.
Model by LLEDO 1/64

1939 MG EX-135: Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Thomas 'Goldie' Gardner OBE MC, who despite a serious leg injury sustained in WWI, went on to be one of England's greatest drivers between the wars. Just before the start of WWII, on the Autobahn in Germany, Gardner took the under 1,100 cc class world speed records over 2 km, 1 mi and 5 km distances, at average speeds of 203.5 mph, 203.3 mph and 197.5 mph respectively. After an overnight engine rebore, on 2 June 1939 at the same venue he gained the 1,100cc to 1,500cc class records over the same distances at average speeds of 204.3 mph, 203.9 mph and 200.6 mph. After WWII, he set numerous new records at Bonneville with EX-135 and when he retired from racing in 1952, he had over the course of his career set over 100 international and local speed records throughout England, Europe and the USA
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1951 MG EX-135: Lt.-Col. Alfred Thomas 'Goldie' Gardner was an active race driver and was one of the most versatile racers of the 1930s and 1940; especially in MG based cars. He was also a noted engineer. It was his association with Sir Malcolm Campbell and his land speed record attempts at Bonneville in 1935 which set Gardner on the path to his focus on LSR attempts. Between 1936 and 1952 he set over 100 national an international speed records. In 1937, Gardner persuaded MG to assist him in purchasing the ex-George Eyston MG K3 based EX135 record-breaker of 1934. With an aerodynamic aluminum body over the space frame chassis, Gardner would use EX135 in several configurations during his career both before and after WWII. In 1951, he took the supercharged MG-TD 1.5 litre engined car seen here to six international and 10 American 1100 to 1500 cc class records. Among them 137.4 mph for a one hour average speed. He was back at Bonneville again in 1952 with the car and set another 21 speed records!
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1953 Austin Healey 100 (SPL 227/B): Austin believed achieving American and International Class D records at Bonneville would help promote and sell the new Austin Healey 100. This car, one of four special test cars built in 1953 ran to a top speed of 142.64 MPH, driven by Donald Healey and setting a new class speed record. The car made it back to Bonneville in 1954 to once again set new speed and endurance records.
Model by K&R Replicas (factory built) 1/43

1954 Austin Healey 100S Bonneville Streamliner: Donald Healey drove this special bodied 100S to a record 192.62 mph on the Salt Flats. The cars set four international class records with Donald Healey at the wheel. Two years later, using this chassis and re-bodied with a six-cylinder supercharged Austin engine, Healey did over 200 mph on the Salt. In 2009 a replica of this car ran at Bonneville but was unable to achieve its maximum potential due to weather and mechanical issues. They make another attempt in 2012. Go to: Healeys Return to Bonneville for updates and more information.
Model by SPARK 1/43

1954 Austin Healey 100S Prototype (SPL 227/B): One of the 100S prototypes ran at Bonneville in 1954, building on endurance and speed records achieved the year before. A replica was reconstructed around this car and ran at Bonneville once again in 2009, achieving almost 128 mph in its demonstration run. The original run in 1954 produced 132 mph and set 24 hour and 5,000 km records.
Model by K&R REPLICAS (factory built) 1/43

1953 & 54 Austin Healeys at Bonneville

1955 D-Type: This D-Type (XKD 529) was sold to America in 1956, where it was owned by Briggs Cunningham and driven by Walt Hansgen to many wins in SCCA events. Tom Ruthford bought the car and modified it for record setting at Bonneville and he set a long-standing class record of 185.5 mph in August 1960.
Model by Brumm 1/43

1956 Abarth-Bertone Record Car: Bertoine designed two streamlined record cars for attempts on class endurance and speed records. This 750cc powered car set 15 records at Monza including driving an average of 102.8 mph for 72 hours.
Model by METRO 1/43

1956 Triumph "Texas Cee-Gar": Thirty-three years after the last American set a world land speed record on a motorcycle, Texan Johnny Allen climbed aboard his Triumph powered streamliner on September 6, 1956 and made history. Allen set a new record of 214.40 mph! A record that stood until 1962 and Allen was the first American to exceed 200 mph on a motorcycle.. Allen set his record on a "home built", relatively low budget private effort designed and financed by J.H. 'Stormy' Mangham, a pilot with American Airlines. The streamliner would come to be known as the "Texas Cee-gar". The bike was powered by a single Triumph Thunderbird twin-cylinder 650cc engine, producing around 100 hp at 7,000 rpm on methanol and nitromethane fuel.Triumph capitalized on the record, naming their new bike model the "Bonneville".
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1957 MG EX-181: The 'Rolling Raindrop' with Stirling Moss at the wheel in 1957, set five international speed records including a top speed of 245.64 mph. The EX181 during Moss' record attempts had a supercharged 1489 cc MGA engine that produced 290 bhp. MGA front suspension was also used, but a Dion rear suspension was incorprated using production car leaf springs and dampers. Stopping was done be a single Girling disc brake!
Model by REPLICARZ 1/18

1958 Abarth Record Car: Between 1956-1966, Abarth set 113 international records at the Monza circuit. This single seat car designed by Pininfarina and powered by a 0.5L 2-Cyl., 36 hp engine achieved a top speed of 112 mph. It was important to Abarth to establish the performance of the new cars. They set six international class speed and endurance records at Monza in this car in 1958.
Model by HACHETTE 1/43

1959 MG EX-181 'Rolling Raindrop': The fastest MG ever! In 1957 Stirling Moss set five international speed records including a top speed of 245.64 mph in EX-181. In 1959, MG made a return to Bonneville and Phil Hill drove the EX-181 to a class record of just under 254.91 mph! EX 181 used a supercharged MGA Twin cam engine of 1.5L, producing 300 bhp and ran on a lethal mixture of methanol laced wth nitrobenzene, acetone and sulphuric ether.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

MICKEY THOMPSON
1959 Thompson Challenger 1: Most auto enthusiasts familiar with the 1960's have heard of Mickey Thompson, the "Speed King". Thompson has set more speed and endurance records (295) than any other person. In 1959, he created a land speed record car of his own design, with the goal of breaking the 400 mph barrier. He came close at 363.5 mph with his four-engined wheel driven car. Powered by four Pontiac 6.8L (414 cu in) engines, the two front engines (mounted backward) supplied power to the front wheels and the two rear engines to the rear wheels. The engines were all connected by four simultaneous gear shifts, as each engine had its own Cadillac manual transmission.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1960 Thompson Challenger 1: For 1960, Thompson redesigned the body of Challenger I and he supercharged the four engines to provide the sufficient horsepower required to break the 400 mph barrier. The engines now produced over 2,000 hp! On his first run, he set a new land speed record of 406.60 mph. Unfortunately one of the four engines blew on the return run, so Thompson was not able to complete the two runs required to create an official record. He was the first American to drive over 400 mph. Poor weather and a bad salt surface in 1961 and 1962 foiled any further attempts. Thompson, always coming up with new ideas and projects left Challenger behind and never drove it again.
Model by HOT WHEELS 1/64

1960 Thompson Challenger 1: One of those projects was Challenger II, which Thompson built in 1968. Unable to make record attempts that year due to poor weather and salt conditions, it wasn’t until after Thompson’s tragic death in 1988 that his son Danny set to restore the car and make his own attempt at a new LSR for a piston-powered car. Fifty years after it was built, Danny Thompson achieved both he and his father’s dream by setting a new record in August of 2018, by driving the car to an average speed of 448.757 mph.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1960 Thompson Challenger 1:This has to be my all-time favorite LSR car, mostly because as a boy putting together a plastic kit of this car, four engines in a car was unbelievable!
Model by REPLICARZ 1/18

1962 Spirit of America: Spirit of America is the name Craig Breedlove uses for his land speed record cars. This SOA was the first of the modern jet-propelled record breaking cars, built with a narrow stream-lined fuselage and three wheel chassis, it was powered by a GE J47 engine from an F-86 Sabre jet fighter. Breedlove was the first man to set an average speed of over 400 mph (407.45) during a land speed record in 1963, but was not recognized since SOA was not wheel driven. On Oct. 15, 1964, he pushed the record over 500 mph, setting it at 526.277 mph in Spirit of America - Sonic One.
Model by SCALEWORKS 1/43

1960 Bluebird-Proteus CN7: On July 17, 1964, Donald Campbell set the land speed record at Lake Eyre, Australia at 403.10 mph. That year, he became the first man to set both the land and the water speed records in the same year. Built in 1960 and crashed at Bonneville that year, Bluebird was rebuilt by the Norris brothers in 1962. Powered by a Bristol-Siddley Proteus gas-turbine engine which drove all four wheels and produced over 4,000 hp. Designed to go over 500 mph, rain and a poor surface conspired against Campbell who made test runs in excess of 440 mph before the final record attempt.
Model by BIZARRE 1/43

1965 Spirit of America Sonic 1: Craig Breedloveset the World Land Speed Record record twice in 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The first time in early November, he went an average of 555.485 mph in Sonic 1. A few days later, Art Arfons beat that record. Eight days later, Breedlove drove to a new LSR of 600.601 mph, a record that stood for five years, the first man over 600 mph!. His wife Lee Breedlove also set the Womans Land Speed Record in Sonic 1 at 308.56 mph. Sonic 1 was powered by a GE J-79GE turbine jet engine that produced 14,980 lbs of thrust!
Model by LLEDO 1/76



To continue to another section of the Old Irish Racing Collection, select one of the following:

THE SIGNATURE PROJECT & RACING DIORAMAS

RACING TRANSPORTERS, SUPPORT VEHICLES AND OTHER TRUCKS Pt.1
RACING TRANSPORTERS, SUPPORT VEHICLES AND OTHER TRUCKS Pt.2


JAGUAR RACING CARS:
To 1959
1960 - 1979
1980 - 1989
1990's - Present

ECURIE ECOSSE - JAGUAR and MORE!
GROUP 44, Inc., JAGUAR & TRIUMPH

JAGUAR AT LE MANS

JAGUAR AUTOMOBILIA

JAGUAR PRODUCTION CARS:
1926 to 1959
1960 to 1968
1969-1987
1988 - Present

JAGUAR CONCEPT CARS & SPECIAL EDITIONS

EACH JAGUAR MODEL FROM 1935 IN PRODUCTION ORDER

FERRARI RACING CARS:
1949 - 1959
1960 - 1969
1970 - 1979
1980 - Present

FERRARI FORMULA ONE

FERRARI PRODUCTION SPORTS, GT CARS & PROTOTYPES

PORSCHE RACING & PRODUCTION CARS:
1950 - 1969
1970 - 1979
1980 - 1989
1990 - Present

BRUMOS RACING TEAM

PORSCHE PRODUCTION CARS

FORMULA 1, GRAND PRIX, INDY:
1900 - 1959
1960 - 1969
1970 - 1979
1980 - PRESENT

GREAT AUTOMOTIVE MAKES & RACING TEAMS:
ABARTH RACING
ALFA ROMEO RACE & PRODUCTION
ASTON MARTIN RACE & PRODUCTION
AUDI RACING
AUSTIN HEALEY & HEALEY
BMW RACE & PRODUCTION
BRABHAM F1 CARS
BRM F1 & SPORTS CARS
BUGATTI
CHAPARRAL
CHEVROLET & GM POWER
COBRAS & DAYTONAS - SHELBY CARS
CUNNINGHAM EQUIPE - THE CARS OF BRIGGS CUNNINGHAM
DATSUN/NISSAN RACING
FORD POWER: GT40's, MUSTANGS & MORE
LANCIA RACE & PRODUCTION
LOLA SPORTS RACING CARS
LOTUS F1, RACE & PRODUCTION
MASERATI RACE & PRODUCTION
MERCEDES BENZ RACE & PRODUCTION
McLAREN RACING & PRODUCTION CARS
MG CARS - RACING & PRODUCTION
TOYOTA RACE & PRODUCTION CARS
TRIUMPH RACE & PRODUCTION CARS

MISC. MARQUES - RACING & PRODUCTION CARS:
AMERICAN MADE
BRITISH MADE
ITALIAN & SPANISH MADE
GERMAN & SWEDISH MADE
JAPAN & AUSTRALIAN MADE
FRENCH MADE

LAND SPEED AND ENDURANCE RECORD CARS

VETERAN, CLASSIC & SPECIAL INTEREST CARS All MARQUES

THE TRIPLE CROWN OF ENDURANCE RACES:
THE 24 HOURS of LE MANS 100 YEARS - 1923-2023
THE 12 Hours of SEBRING WINNERS
THE 24 HOURS of DAYTONA WINNERS

DRIVER TRIBUTES:
THE OLD IRISH RACING HALL OF FAME
JUAN MANUEL FANGIO TRIBUTE
STIRLING MOSS TRIBUTE
WORLD DRIVER & CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONS 1950 - 1985

PLAY BALL! - IT'S BASEBALL TIME:
A TRIBUTE TO BOYHOOD HEROES AND MY DAD

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