Showing posts with label land speed record holder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label land speed record holder. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2026
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
Sunday, August 24, 2025
Friday, May 09, 2025
this is superb... the fastest Kenworth in Australia - Speedweek 2025 - Rob Waters and his W-Model Kenworth
https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/motoring/well-go-trucking-fast-ng-b881126810z
And I scooped the Drive by at least 3 days, https://www.thedrive.com/news/kenworth-semi-built-to-break-land-speed-records-is-the-coolest-way-to-go-140-mph OR, they are simply reading my blog and posting the coolest stuff, and not bothering to give me credit as the source
Friday, November 22, 2024
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Friday, June 14, 2024
a 1935 Riley Kestrel, alone and unloved in Holland was chosen to be the eye magnet for marketing beer... it's working! Then they decided to land speed race it!
Nigel McNally founder and CEO of Brookfield Drinks and The Kestrel Brewing Co (Scotland), said: “Plenty of people told us we couldn’t do it. We have had setbacks and issues, particularly with the aerodynamics"
The car, with trademark fastback styling, had not been touched since 1965 when Nigel and Joel found it.
It's now powered by a specially modified 2.5 litre, 5-cylinder engine capable of 992bhp.
It achieved 7 land-speed records at Elvington Racetrack in June 2021, and is prepped for the June 17th 200mph record attempt..
Thursday, February 08, 2024
Friday, August 04, 2023
Sunbeam Tiger, not just the mid 60s Alpine with a Shelby 289, the name was originally on this 1925 land speed record setter, at 152 mph
Did you know the 60s Sunbeam Alpine Tiger was a result of input from Ken Miles, Shelby, and Jack Brabham? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_Tiger
Monday, July 10, 2023
a real land speed racing record holder from the 1966 though 1972 seasons is coming to auction at Pebble Beach this year, 271 on the salt two way average, 290 one way.
it was left at George Callaway's El Mirage ranch, and he kept it for decades, because Thompson (SCTA secretary) never paid him rent.
https://www.goodingco.com/lot/1953-studebaker-land-speed-coupe/?sortBy=ENDING_SOONEST&pageNumber=1&fbclid=IwAR3P72lniSdL1_MOcerdgJdUBNPggzEz0
Friday, May 12, 2023
On May 24, Paula Murphy will be celebrated at the Petersen, 1st with a film, then with a panel discussion with her.
Paula Murphy: Undaunted, a film from the Left Behind documentary series created by Pam Miller and Cindy Sisson. The series about women in the automobile and motorsports world, who didn't create the household names that Petty, Knievel, and Breedlove did.
Her family came to Southern California in the 1950s, where she soon won her class in an Alfa Romeo in 1959. Shortly after, she went on to teach at Dan Gurney’s racing school, and caught the attention of marketing genius Andy Granatelli.
She soon became known as “Miss STP”, and driving for Granatelli’s then ubiquitous STP oil-additive brand, she set 365 new stock-car records for Granatelli and Studebaker at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963.
She soon became known as “Miss STP”, and driving for Granatelli’s then ubiquitous STP oil-additive brand, she set 365 new stock-car records for Granatelli and Studebaker at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1963.
Her success made her the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500, behind the wheel of the Novi, Granatelli’s challenging Studebaker Indy race car. Back to Bonneville in 1965, she piloted Avenger, the STP jet car—despite four inches of water on the ground—to 243.33 mph.
She drove a Studebaker Avanti coast-to-coast for the Ford Transcontinental Speed record and set four transcontinental speed records.
Her first drag racing was in 1965 driving an Olds 4-4-2 prepared by Dick Landy. Her competitive best was 12.46 at 110 mph.
She was licensed in a Funny Car when Tom ‘The Mongoose’ McEwen, then president of the United Drag Racers Association, welcomed her and presided over her licensing at Lions and Don ‘Big Daddy’ Garlits signed off. The NHRA nixed her license, and Grantelli didn't like that, and got it reinstated. The following year saw her dip into the sevens and break 200 mph.
For the 1969 season, Paula purchased a Barracuda Funny Car built by Don Hardy and spent most of the year match racing around the Midwest—where the money was.
She went to England in 1973, along with Don Schumacher, as part of a three-weekend trip organized by Tony Nancy.
Murphy went on to Grand Prix racing, where she was the only American selected to represent the United States in the first Women’s Grand Prix Race in 1974.
https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/petersen-automotive-museum-honors-racer-paula-murphy-1234842078
Friday, March 24, 2023
today's Google doodle celebrates Kitty O'Niel
O’Neil was born on this day in 1946 to a Cherokee Native American mother and Irish father in Corpus Christi, Texas.
In the late 70s, she made it onto the big screen as a stunt double for films and TV series including The Bionic Woman (1976), Wonder Woman (1977-1979), and The Blues Brothers (1980). .
In 1976, O’Neil was crowned “the fastest woman alive” after zooming across the Alvord Desert at 512.76 miles per hour! She drove a rocket-powered car called the Motivator and surpassed the previous women’s land-speed record by almost 200 mph.
In 1976, O’Neil was crowned “the fastest woman alive” after zooming across the Alvord Desert at 512.76 miles per hour! She drove a rocket-powered car called the Motivator and surpassed the previous women’s land-speed record by almost 200 mph.
Once she broke the women’s record by a landslide, it became evident that she could likely beat the men’s mark too. Unfortunately, her sponsors did not allow her to break the overall record as it threatened the status quo — they wanted to reserve the feat for a male driver.
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Friday, October 21, 2022
just finished watching the Jessi Combs documentary, and they do include the in cockpit camera footage of the run where she crashed
and it shows that her front wheel was gone, and when she came off the afterburner, the jet car just landed on it's nose, and had no brakes, and vibrated madly, and went into the scrub fast, crashed hard and rolled, and she likely died from the crash.
The movie doesn't mention a single thing about that. They do show the jet car remains, and the damn thing was on fire, in pieces, when the team finally arrived at the black cloud of smoke that showed where the wreck was.
Why aren't there any rescue and EMTs at the far end of a land speed racers path? Why the hell are they trying to catch up to a 400 or 500 mph vehicle, from the start of the damn 8 or 15 mile track?
Why not be where the racer is speeding TOO? Instead of FROM?
Winners Take All. Jessi set the speed record, then died.
The documentary isn't thorough, it doesn't hardly show what she did before the land speed race car came around. It doesn't show many of her friends, co-workers, etc.
It does show each run on her way to the record. It does have her mom along during the races, and her dad interviewed after the crash.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Norman Dewis, who was a rear gunner in the RAF during WWII, piloted a modified 1952 XK120 with a small bubble windscreen to win the land speed record for a production car. It became the only Jaguar to hold a land speed record.
known as the ‘Jabbeke’ XK, famed for its 1953 land speed record of 173.159 mph, achieved on Belgium’s Jabbeke Motorway.
To beat his mile run record, approved in May 1949 on the Jabbeke-Aeltre stretch of motorway at over 213 km/h, then beaten by Pegaso in September 1953 (243 km/h), William Lyons – the president of Jaguar – beats the recall of his troops from any urgency to line up immediately October 1953 a Jaguar XK 120 prepared with an engine pushed in its final stretch.
Built is 1952, this XK120, registered MDU 524, began life as an original Jaguar Works Competition car and went on to compete in the challenging terrain of the Rallye International des Alpes as its first competitive outing.
Its optimized aerodynamics - narrow tires, removal of any frame, headlight profiling - is even spectacular with this famous bubble that has been debated.
Indeed, these modifications seem to rather go against the will of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, which since 1946 has been organizing speed transfers on a portion of the Brussels-Ostende motorway for cars classified da ns different categories of cylinders.
Beyond this controversial bubble, the result is no less stunning for the time being: the Jaguar XK 120, driven by chief engineer Norman Dewis, becomes the world's fastest "series car" again with a flying mile of 173 mph !!!
Friday, June 03, 2022
Monday, April 25, 2022
This Javelin that Craig Breedlove set a new C-Production class record of 161.733 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats with, is up for sale. It’s only ever been driven 19 miles – all on the salt.
Sunday, September 05, 2021
Kim came across photos of Soviet LSR sidecar motorcycles, with beautiful aluminum fairings. The third wheels qualified the motorcycles in their hand-beaten aluminum fairings for sidecar records.
Here’s Edgar Ermani’s with EKE-1, and (right) Nikolai Shumilkins supercharged Kometa-3 boxer motorcycle in 1954 (85-90 bhp, 138 mph.)
Thank you Kim!
Thursday, August 19, 2021
Ted Frye's record-setting bellytanker with Von Dutch pin stripes
Ted Frye of Los Angeles built this P-38 tank in the mid '50s. He was working for Isky Racing Cams in those days.
The tank, nicknamed "Salty Shaker," held many SCTA speed records over the years. Frye drove his way into the Bonneville 200 MPH Club in 1957 with a speed of 216.750, which was updated to 240.650 by the time he stopped racing it in 1963.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/belly-tank-racer-east-coast-custom
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Congrats to Denise! New World Land Speed Record at pedaling a bike to 184 mph!
Denise Korenek at Bonneville as she sets the new world record for fastest paced land-speed on a bicycle, topping out at 183.9MPH
Two years ago she set a record of 147 mph, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/09/fellow-san-diegan-cyclist-denise.html and I even got a thank you email when she found out I posted about her! How cool is that!
https://geekologie.com/2018/09/1839mph-video-of-the-new-land-speed-reco.php
http://theprojectspeed.com/
https://www.instagram.com/firecycle/
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