Showing posts with label Bonneville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bonneville. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2026
Sunday, August 16, 2026
The FIA is in the process of digitizing for public viewing more than two million documents and pictures from its boxes of archive stored in Valleiry (thank you Paul!)
Its collection relating to the land speed record is one of the first projects to be undertaken and will be made public shortly.
Alongside the documents and pictures are hand-written notes, letters and official records, annotated by those witnessing or taking part in the record attempts, a distinct, human element reaching back through the years.
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Friday, July 31, 2026
well, HELLO hot stuff! Now I want to know what this is... a Bocar? Kellison? (my guesses were wrong, it's a 1956 Almquist Sabre sitting on a modified Kurtis K500 Indy car chassis) The engine seems to be a GSXR 750 cc, 14200 rpm, Garrett Turbo. It's the toy of the CEO of the SecureIt small arms storage co
DRSC Automotive is in Minnesota
J & J Performance is in Florida
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Sunday, June 28, 2026
JCB has completed testing of its hydrogen-powered land speed record JCB Hydromax car ahead of its attempt to break the land speed record later this summer at Bonneville (thank you George)
The test runs took place at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire with Andy Green behind the wheel. The testing saw speeds increase from 177mph to 208mph
The 32-foot Hydromax car is powered by a powertrain developed in-house that combines two engines producing a combined 1,600bhp. The engines are “very similar” to those that feature in JCB’s own production-based hydrogen diggers, but have been enhanced by the need for speed.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
JCB's hydrogen-powered land speed car has begun testing in the UK ahead of a Bonneville bid to set a new FIA world hydrogen speed record.
The Staffordshire manufacturer said its Hydromax car had completed its first test runs under hydrogen power at RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, ahead of a planned record attempt in the US in August.
The 32ft-long vehicle has been built to beat JCB's existing diesel land speed record of 350.092 mph, which was set in 2006 by the firm's Dieselmax car.
Powered by two hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engines, producing a combined 1,600bhp, the Hydromax was unveiled at JCB's headquarters in Rocester in May.
The company plans to transport the car to the United States next month in preparation for Speed Week, the annual gathering of land speed racers at Bonneville. Following that event, JCB will pursue officially recognized records sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body.
"Twelve months ago, this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers," Bamford said. "Today it is a reality and on wheels, running and being tested in the UK."
The Hydromax project has moved from concept to test track in just over a year. The first technical meeting involving engineering partners Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac took place in June 2025. Almost exactly one year later, the completed vehicle rolled onto the tarmac at RAF Wittering under its own hydrogen power for the first time.
"Twelve months ago, this car was a set of drawings being discussed by a room full of engineers," Bamford said. "Today it is a reality and on wheels, running and being tested in the UK."
The Hydromax project has moved from concept to test track in just over a year. The first technical meeting involving engineering partners Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac took place in June 2025. Almost exactly one year later, the completed vehicle rolled onto the tarmac at RAF Wittering under its own hydrogen power for the first time.
Sunday, December 14, 2025
Saturday, December 13, 2025
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Thursday, October 02, 2025
Who said baggers can’t go fast? Indian Motorcycle just set the class record at 196.576 mph, two-run average record of 194.384 mph. The previous class record was 169.828 mph set in 1972, by J. Angerer riding a Triumph.
Indian built its Bonneville contender on a stock Challenger race bike, in collaboration with S&S Cycle. It uses the Indian's 112 ci PowerPlus V-twin motor, which produces 126 horsepower in stock condition. But it gets fitted with larger throttle bodies, ported cylinder heads, two-into-two exhaust, and race camshafts.
S&S Cycle also used a larger compression ratio to extract a few more horsepower, considering Bonneville lets you run high-octane fuel. The KOTB lightened crankshaft is also replaced with a full-weight one. And with ground clearance being of next to no concern because you’re essentially blasting in a straight line down the salt flats, S&S also created a muscular exhaust to prioritize flow over volume.
S&S Cycle also used a larger compression ratio to extract a few more horsepower, considering Bonneville lets you run high-octane fuel. The KOTB lightened crankshaft is also replaced with a full-weight one. And with ground clearance being of next to no concern because you’re essentially blasting in a straight line down the salt flats, S&S also created a muscular exhaust to prioritize flow over volume.
The rest of the bike is heavily customized with forged wheels, top-spec Brembo brakes, 43-mm Öhlins FGR250 forks, and an Öhlins TTX monoshock.
The rider triangle was tweaked further by fitting lower clip-ons and pushing the foot pegs further back. The land-speeder's cockpit uses the same AIM dash and data-logging system as its KOTB counterpart, but the braking system is wildly different. The crew removed the front brake lever and calipers, and installed a bar-mounted thumb lever with a Beringer master cylinder to trigger the rear brake.
Buttons on the left-hand side of the bars control the bike's air-shift system. The brake and shift systems negate the need for the rider to grab at levers or move their feet, so that they can remain perfectly tucked at all times
Buttons on the left-hand side of the bars control the bike's air-shift system. The brake and shift systems negate the need for the rider to grab at levers or move their feet, so that they can remain perfectly tucked at all times
https://www.bikeexif.com/indian-challenger-land-speed-record
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Monday, August 18, 2025
Monday, August 11, 2025
Monday, July 21, 2025
Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles drove this Ferrari in 1955, a privately-entered 375 Plus Spyder, fielded by Tony Parravano. Shelby won the Seattle Seafair with it, but later crashed it at Palm Springs.
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Shelby’s high-speed crash at Palm Springs in December, resulted in Frank Arciero, a local team boss with a knack for spotting talent, buying the car and he sent the wreck to Jack Sutton, a British aircraft metalworker turned racecar coachbuilder. Sutton’s alloy bodywork gave the Ferrari new life and better handling.
The Sutton-bodied 375 Plus became a fixture at several venues like Pomona, Riverside, Paramount Ranch, and Santa Barbara, scoring six overall victories, raceb my McAfee and Gurney, had multiple second-place finishes, and even an impressive 176.913 mph run at Bonneville with Bob Drake behind the wheel.
Saturday, July 12, 2025
great looking race car, 1947 Indy 500 Novi Governor Mobile Special, a Kurtis Kraft of course. With a gear driven supercharged engine designed by Bud Winfield, brother of famous engine building icon Ed Winfield
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The canopied version of the Kurtis Kraft car looked beautiful, but she had a troubled past.
At the Indy 500 earlier that year, Herb Ardinger started and finished in 4th place with his #54 Novi Governor Mobil Special. Teammate Cliff Bergere drove the #18 Novi Governor Mobil Special with mixed results however, spinning out during qualifying, then starting in 2nd position only to a piston on lap 62 of the race.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Whoa! I don't think I've ever seen a Jensen built up for Bonneville land speed racing from an autocross car... but then, I've never heard of one autocrossing either!
I haven't looked at Hagerty's website for a long while... and this popped up on my facebook feed...
The car is one of only 500 made
To reduce drag going over the car, the grille was sealed up. Without any air flowing through the radiator, the car now relies on a 45-gallon water tank to keep it cool during its five-mile runs at wide-open throttle.
Thanks to its big turbo and adjustable wastegate, power can be dialed in from 800 to about 1200 horsepower.
The goal is 200 mph, but electrical and mechanical gremlins have kept the car from getting faster than 184
Monday, February 03, 2025
Phil Vincent had yearned to build something to outperform the Brough Superior SS100, which had ruled unchallenged since the 1920s.
Britain’s postwar steel shortage made Vincent’s now much-copied frameless construction their choice—the steering head attached to the cylinder heads via a welded sheet metal box—that was “the frame.”
The result was an extremely compact 1,000cc V-twin of unmatched acceleration and speed. Nothing else came close, but production was limited by high price.
Think of this bike and doesn't the photo of Rollie Free, horizontal in bathing shorts, setting a 150-mph record at Bonneville, pop into your mind?
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