Speed of the Wind was a record-breaking car of the 1930s, built for and driven by Captain

George Eyston Captain George Edward Thomas Eyston MC OBE (28 June 1897 – 11 June 1979) was a British engineer, inventor, and racing driver best known for breaking the land speed record three times between 1937 and 1939. Early life George Eyston was educ ...

. The car was designed by Eyston and E A D Eldridge, then built by the father of Tom Delaney It was powered by an unsupercharged version of the V-12

Rolls-Royce Kestrel The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar pe ...

aero engine. The car was too large and heavy for circuit racing and was already underpowered by the standards of the absolute speed record breakers. This car was designed for ''endurance'', more than peak power. Running a supercharged engine with the fuel and materials technology of the day would never have lasted the duration. This particular engine was obtained second-hand from

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

, where it had previously powered an airflow fan in an engine test cell. Having always been intended for long-term use at ground level, it had been built without the Kestrel's usual supercharger. For streamlining, distinctive features of the car are the two small "nostrils", headlights and air inlets in the nose. These produced less drag than a typical inlet and flat honeycomb

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

. The engine was cooled instead by a surface radiator wrapped around the top of the bodywork, just in front of the driver. During testing, the car appears to have run, although not competitively, at either Brooklands or Montlhery.

Records

Speed of the Wind was built for long-duration speed records, which were the domain of

Ab Jenkins David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins (January 25, 1883 – August 9, 1956) was the 24th mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah between 1940 to 1944. He was a professional race car driver. Jenkins' interest in motorsports began with racing motorcycles on dirt track ...

and the Bonneville salt flats of Utah. Jenkins was fond of competition and was instrumental in encouraging British teams to travel to Bonneville.

1935

In September 1935, shortly after Campbell's 300 mph record with

Blue Bird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

, Eyston broke Jenkins' 24-hour record and raised it to

1936

For the 1936 season, Jenkins created the

Mormon Meteor The ''Mormon Meteor I'' and ''III'' were two land speed record cars built in the 1930s by Ab Jenkins. Duesenberg Special The ''Duesenberg Special'' was a one-off speed record car. It was built in 1935 on a supercharged Duesenberg Model J rolli ...

by fitting a

Curtiss Conqueror The Curtiss V-1570 Conqueror was a 12-cylinder vee liquid-cooled aircraft engine. Representing a more powerful version of the Curtiss D-12, the engine entered production in 1926 and flew in numerous aircraft.Gunston 1989, p. 46. Design and de ...

V12 into his previous

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is ...

chassis. Eyston returned, with E A D Eldridge as team manager, and his colleague from

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

, John Cobb in the

Napier-Railton The Napier-Railton is an aero-engined racing car built in 1933, designed by Reid Railton to a commission by John Cobb, and built by Thomson & Taylor. It was driven by Cobb, mainly at the Brooklands race track where it holds the all-time lap ...

as another competitor. (photo of the Napier-Railton at Bonneville) Eyston set the first records, averaging for 24 hours and over 48 hours. The Mormon Meteor made its first attempt, beating the average speed to 12 hours at , but retiring with a driveshaft failure. John Cobb then took Eyston’s 24 hour record at , but didn't attempt 48. The Meteor made a second attempt, and this time remained reliable. Its two co-drivers set times of for 24 hours and for 48.

Demise

The remains of the car were destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Models

Meccano produced a model of the car as part of its

Dinky Toys Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpo ...

range, both pre- and post-war. Tommy Doo Toys and Johillco also produced a model of this car.

Notes

References

The Dinky Toys Encyclopaedia.

External links

Two photographs in the

Brooklands photo archive Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

show it outside Delaney & Sons. garage, a popular location for racing in this era
Outside the Delaney & Sons Sunbeam-Talbot garage

In both photographs, George Eyston is standing at the far left. A third photograph is likely to be the same location.

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