Louis Zborowski
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Louis Zborowski
Louis Vorow Zborowski (20 February 1895 – 19 October 1924) was an English racing driver and automobile engineer, best known for creating a series of aero-engined racing cars known as the "Chitty-Bang-Bangs", which provided the inspiration for Ian Fleming's children's story, ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' and culminated in the "Higham Special" which, much modified in the hands of John Godfrey Parry Thomas, broke the World Land Speed Record 18 months after the death of its creator. Background Louis Zborowski was born in 1895 in London to American parents, who had moved to England nine years earlier. His father, William Elliott Morris Zborowski (1858–1903), was also a racing driver, and died in a racing crash, in 1903 at La Turbie Hillclimb in Nice, France. His mother was a wealthy American heiress, born Margaret Laura Astor Carey (1853–1911), a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor Sr. and Margaret Rebecca Armstrong of the prominent Astor family. She had been Madame d ...
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Louis Zborowski At The 1922 French Grand Prix (2) (cropped)
Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated terms * Lewis (other) * Louie (other) * Luis (other) * Louise (other) * Louisville (other) * Louis Cruise Lines * Louis dressing, for salad * Louis Quinze, design style Associated names * * Chlodwig, the origin of the name Ludwig, which is translated to English as "Louis" * Ladislav and László - names sometimes erroneously associated with "Louis" * Ludovic, Ludwig (other), Ludwig, Ludwick, Ludwik, names sometimes translated to English as "Louis" {{disambiguation ...
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Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film '' Goldfinger''. Their sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon. Aston Martin has held a Royal Warrant as purveyor of motorcars to the Prince of Wales since 1982, and has over 160 car dealerships in 53 countries, making it a global automobile brand. The company is traded at the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. In 2003 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade. The company has survived seven bankruptcies throughout its history. The headquarters and main production of its sports cars and grand t ...
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Babs (Land Speed Record Car)
''Babs'' was the land speed record car built and driven by John Parry-Thomas. It was powered by a 27-litre Liberty aero-engine. ''Babs'' began as ' Chitty 4', one of Count Louis Zborowski's series of aero-engined cars named 'Chitty Bang Bang'. As it was built at Zborowski's estate of Higham Park near Canterbury, it was also known as the Higham Special. Using a V12 Liberty aero engine of 27 litres capacity, with a gearbox and chain-drive from a pre-war Blitzen Benz, it was the largest capacity racing car ever to run at Brooklands. Still not fully developed by the time of Zborowski's death in 1924, it was purchased from his estate by J.G. Parry-Thomas for the sum of £125. Parry-Thomas rechristened the car ''Babs'' and rebuilt it with four Zenith carburettors and his own design of pistons. In April 1926, Parry-Thomas used the car to break the land speed record at 171.02 mph (273.6 km/h). ''Babs'' used exposed chains (covered by a fairing) to take power to the dr ...
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Land Speed Record
The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The land speed record (LSR) is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs (commonly called "passes"). Two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated. History The first regulator was the ''Automobile Club de France'', which proclaimed itself arbiter of the record in about 1902. Until 1903, trains held the land speed record for fastest vehicles in which people could travel. Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognize the same wor ...
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Liberty L-12
The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized Marinisation (also marinization) is design, redesign, or testing of products for use in a marine environment. Most commonly, it refers to use and long-term survival in harsh, highly corrosive salt water conditions. Marinisation is done by many manu ..., in marine use both in racing and runabout boats. A single bank 6-cylinder version, the Liberty L-6, and V-8, the Liberty L-8, were derived from the Liberty L-12. It was succeeded by the Packard 1A-2500. Development In May 1917, a month after the United States had declared war on Germany, a federal task force known as the Aircraft Board, Aircraft Production Board summoned two top engine designers, Jesse G. Vincent (of the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit) and Elbert J. Hall (of the Hall-Scott Motor Co. ...
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Benz Bz
Benz, an old Germanic clan name dating to the fifth century (related to "bear", "war banner", "gau", or a "land by a waterway") also used in German () as an alternative for names such as Berthold, Bernhard, or Benedict, may refer to: People Surname * Amy Benz (born 1962), American golfer * Bertha Benz (1849–1944), German marketing entrepreneur who was the first to drive an automobile for a long distance, wife of Karl Benz * Derek Benz (born 1971), American author of fantasy fiction for children * Edward J. Benz, Jr., professor of genetics * Joe Benz (1886–1957), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Joseph Benz (born 1944), Swiss former bobsledder, Olympic and world champion * Julie Benz (born 1972), American actress * Kafi Benz (born 1941), American author, artist, and environmental and historic preservationist * Karl Benz (1844–1929), German engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who built the first patented automobile * Larry Benz (born 1941), American former National ...
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Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang was the informal name of a number of celebrated British racing cars, built and raced by Count Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop in the 1920s, which inspired the book, film and stage musical ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang''. The Chittys were built in Canterbury, Kent and stored at Higham Park, Zborowski's country house at Bridge near Canterbury. The cars were so loud that Canterbury reportedly passed a by-law prohibiting them from entering within the city walls. The origin of the name "Chitty Bang Bang" is disputed, but may have been inspired by aeronautical engineer Letitia Chitty, the sound of an idling aeroplane engine or from a salacious World War I song. Chitty 1 ''Chitty 1'' was a chain-driven customised Mercedes chassis containing a 23-litre 6-cylinder Maybach aero-engine. It won two races at its debut at Brooklands in 1921, coming second to another Zborowski car in a sprint race at the same event. ''Chitty 1'' was fitted with four seats and a ...
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Bentley Boys
The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. In 1925, as the marque foundered, Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato bought the company, leading to the creation of the famous supercharged Bentley Blower car. The Bentley Boys included: * Woolf "Babe" Barnato, heir to Kimberley diamond magnate Barney Barnato * Dudley Benjafield * Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin * Dale Bourne * Frank Clement * S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis, automotive journalist, sports editor of '' The Autocar'' * John Duff * George Duller, steeplechaser * Clive Dunfee * Jack Dunfee * Dudley Froy * Baron Andre d’Erlanger, playboy * Clive Gallop, engineer * Glen Kidston, aviator * Bertie Kensington Moir * Bernard Rubin, pearl fishery magnate * Jean Chassagne, French racing driver * Sir Alex Moore, British racing driver * Joe Brown, British racing driver Thanks to the dedication of this group to seriou ...
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Clive Gallop
Colonel Reginald Clive Gallop (4 February 1892 - 7 September 1960Martin Pugh (author), Martin Pugh, 'Bentley Boys (act. 1919–1931)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, May 2013) was an engineer, racing driver and First World War pilot. He was one of the team which developed their first engine for Bentley Motors. Royal Flying Corps Clive Gallop joined the Royal Flying Corps, flying aeroplanes over the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. He commanded a number of flights, including No. 56 Squadron RAF, No. 56 Squadron. London racing driver, motor vehicle dealer and engineer W. O. Bentley had suggested aluminium pistons to his car supplier Doriot, Flandrin & Parant and had them installed in those cars he imported. Following commissioning on the outbreak of war as an engineer by the Royal Naval Air Service Bentley was sent to Gwynnes Limited, Gwynnes pumps workshops in Chiswick which were making French Clerget engines under licence. Par ...
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Count Zborowski With Chitty Bang Bang 1 At Brooklands
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1992. p. 73. . The etymologically related English term "county" denoted the territories associated with the countship. Definition The word ''count'' came into English from the French ''comte'', itself from Latin ''comes''—in its accusative ''comitem''—meaning “companion”, and later “companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor”. The adjective form of the word is "comital". The British and Irish equivalent is an earl (whose wife is a "countess", for lack of an English term). In the late Roman Empire, the Latin title ''comes'' denoted the high rank of various courtiers and provincial officials, either military or administrative: before Anthemius became emperor in the West in 467, he was a military ''comes ...
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Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club (MAC). It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is the oldest to have been staged continuously (wartime excepted) on its original course, first having been run in 1905. On that first occasion, the course was 992 yards (907 m) in length, but in 1907 it was standardised at 1000 yards (914 m), the length it remains today. Shelsley Walsh is a notably steep course by the standards of today's hillclimbs held in the United Kingdom. It rises 328 feet (100 m) during its length, for an average gradient of 1 in 9.14 (10.9%), with the steepest section being as much as 1 in 6.24 (16%). This makes Shelsley a hill on which power is important, and on which the gap in times between the most powerful cars and the rest is greater than at many other venues. It is also narrow, being no more than 12 feet (3.66 m) wide at some points. History Earl ...
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24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track can go up to , and in prior events reaching before track modifications. Racing teams must balance the demands of speed with the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without mechanical failure. The race is organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). It is held on the Circuit de la Sarthe, composed of closed public roads and dedicated sections of a racing track. The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, with the other events being the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was frequently part ...
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