Lord K's Garage - #31. Golden Arrow

Golden Arrow was a land speed record racer.

Built for Major Henry Segrave to take the land speed record from Ray Keech, Golden Arrow was one of the first streamlined land speed racers, with a pointed nose and tight cowling. Power was provided by a 23.9 litre (1462 ci) W12 Napier Lion VIIA aeroengine, specially prepared by Napiers and originally intended for the Schneider Trophy, producing 925 hp (690 kW) at 3300 rpm.

The Thrupp and Maberly aluminium bodywork was designed by ex-Sunbeam engineer J.S. Irving, and featured ice chests in the sides through which coolant ran and a telescopic sight on the cowl to help avoid running diagonally.

In March 1929, Segrave (American-born British sportsman, a true Dieselpunk icon deserving a special post here) went to Daytona, and after a sole practice run, on 11 March, in front of 120,000 spectators, set a new flying mile at 231.45 mph (372.46 km/h), easily beating Keech's old speed of 207.55 mph (334.00 km/h).

Two days later, Lee Bible's White Triplex crashed and killed a photographer, leading Segrave to quit land speed racing briefly, only to be killed attempting a water speed record the next year.

Golden Arrow never ran again. She is now on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire, England.

Text: Wiki

Images: Jitterbuzz.com

Tags: 1920s, automobile, british, car, garage

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Comment by Larry on April 11, 2010 at 7:15pm: @Athenaprime, Ah yes. Speed Racer. I was a Speed Racer addict when I was a young boy. Still one of the coolest cars. Even if the movie was crap.

Comment by Sparky Gage on April 2, 2010 at 3:38pm: I looked them up and can see what you mean.

Can you guys imagine: 200mph+ in an open cockpit?! (ok, if one of you races sport bikes, I guess you can)

Comment by lord_k on April 2, 2010 at 12:59pm: To Sparky Gage:
there's even more in common between the Arrow and record-breaking Supermarines S.5/6 (of the Schneider Trophy fame).

Comment by Sparky Gage on April 2, 2010 at 12:56pm: I don't quite see the Mach 5, but I do see something between Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. Even without the tail.

(I'm going to be making race engine sounds the rest of the day.)

Comment by Athenaprime on April 2, 2010 at 9:48am: Am I the only one who sees a startling similarity between Golden Arrow and the Mach 5 from Speed Racer?

I can only imagine the spirit of adventure that must have been riding with these fellas as they pushed harder and went faster in what amounts to an engine with a seat and two beer coolers strapped to each side. Amazing.

Comment by Tome Wilson on April 2, 2010 at 9:11am: To think that The Golden Arrow was drafted with pencils and graph paper and then beaten into shape by hand is really impressive. The only things I've ever built that went that fast usually exploded ;-)

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