The Napier-Railton is an aero-engined racing car built in 1933, designed by

Reid Railton Reid A. Railton (1895–1977) was a British automotive engineer, and designer of land and water speed record vehicles. Biography Reid Antony Railton was the son of a Manchester stockbroker: Charles Withingon Railton and his wife Charlotte Eliza ...

to a commission by John Cobb, and built by

Thomson & Taylor Thomson & Taylor were a motor-racing engineering and car-building firm, based within the Brooklands race track. They were active between the wars and built several of the famous land speed record breaking cars of the day. Thomas Inventions Devel ...

. It was driven by Cobb, mainly at the

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 airfie ...

race track where it holds the all-time lap record () which was set in 1935. The circuit was appropriated for military purposes during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, and never reopened in that form for racing. It has a W12 engine with 3 different exhaust systems.

History

Between 1933 and 1937, the Napier-Railton broke 47 world speed records at Brooklands,

Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry Autodrome de Montlhéry (established 4 October 1924) is a motor racing circuit, officially called L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, owned by Utac, located south-west of the small town of Montlhéry about south of Paris. History Industria ...

and

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

in Utah. (photo of the Napier-Railton at Bonneville) The car is powered by the high compression version (6.1:1) (RAF specification) of the naturally aspirated

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...

, a W12 of capacity, producing at 2585 revolutions per minute (recorded at 5,000ft - performance at ground level may be different), and of torque. The 12 cylinders are in three banks of four (broad-arrow configuration), hence the triple exhaust system, and the engine has standard aerospace features such as dual

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

ignition. The non-synchromesh crash gearbox (named for the horrible noises caused by a mis-shift) has 3 ratios. The fuel tank, located in the boat-tail behind the driver, has a capacity of 65 gallons and fuel consumption was approximately 5 mpg. Following the Second World War, the car was, for a short time, repurposed to test the drogue chutes of aircraft. A problem arose when it was realised that the car had no brakes and had in past races simply rolled to a stop. This was seen as potentially dangerous so brakes were fitted to the back wheels in hopes of slowing the car sufficiently should the chute fail. Postwar owners include Patrick Lindsay and Victor Gauntlett. The car was purchased by Brooklands Museum circa 1997 with the support of the UK's

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and other donors. It is maintained in fully working order and is normally on display in one of the museum's 1930s motoring sheds. The car is run regularly and is usually present at the

Goodwood Revival The Goodwood Revival is a three-day festival held each September at Goodwood Circuit since 1998 for the types of racing cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit's original period—1948–1966. History The first Revival t ...

motor race meeting every September. Napier railton - front-side.jpg, The Napier-Railton at Brooklands 6d388565.jpg, The Napier-Railton at Brooklands Napier rear nearside.jpg, The Napier-Railton at Brooklands Napier-Railton cockpit.jpg, Cockpit/Dash Napier-Railton Engine Bay.jpg, The Napier Lion engine Napier Railton @ Brooklands Museum.JPG, The Napier-Railton at Brooklands

External links

Brooklands Society
*{{dead link, date=February 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Vehicles designed by Reid Railton Vehicles powered by Napier Lion engines Racing cars Cars powered by aircraft engines

History

Further reading

External links