Todays history from 39mph to the speed of sound in less then 100 years. I'm sure everyone out there has gone a little over the speed limit at least once....Am I right? Well I got that out of my system years ago I rarely go more then 10 mph over on the freeway anymore. Now I just sit back and cruise in my slow VW Bug yes under 100mph....But ever since the invention of cars people have been racing them and seeing how fast they can go......and Today in history is the first ...............
Official land speed record set December 18, 1898
Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the world's first official land-speed record in Acheres Park near Paris: 39.245mph in his Jeantaud automobile, powered by an electric motor and alkaline batteries. The Jeantaud is widely believed to be the first automobile steered by a modern steering wheel rather than a tiller. The tiller was quickly replaced by the steering wheel in the early 1900s.
Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Whatever the case, the Jeantaud remains and will always be the first automobile to set an official land speed record.
Unfortunately for our "Electric Count," the record would last just a few days before it would fall to a faster electric vehicle.
Other history making speeds
- 1899 Camille Jenatzy (Belgium) becomes the first person to travel faster than 62mph and the first person to travel faster than 1 mile per minute;
- 1902 William K. Vanderbilt Jr (USA) sets a record of 76.08mph, the first time the record has been held by a petrol-driven car;
- 1904 Louis Rigolly (France) becomes the first person to travel faster than 100mph at 103.55mph
- 1963 Craig Breedlove (USA) reaches 407.45mph in his jet-powered Spirit of America but the FIA does not recognize the record because there is no category for jet cars;
- 1970 Driving Blue Flame, Gary Gabelich (USA) becomes the first person to travel faster than 621 mph on land;
- 1997 Andy Green (England) sets a new record of 763.035mph , becoming the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound on land.
1964 Green Monster
Art Arfons grew up in rural Ohio, working on the family's feed mill to hone his mechanical aptitude. He and his brother drag-raced and beat legend "Big Daddy" Don Garlits in the late '50s-a sizeable accomplishment. During the next decade, Arfons switched to land speed racing and built a series of jet-powered streamliners. Most of his cars used the name "Green Monster," but this one is the most famous. It set and reset the top-speed record several times during Arfon's battles with Craig Breedlove. On Nov. 7, 1965, Arfons established the top-speed record at 576.5 mph. He beat Breedlove's five-day old record by over 20 mph. But eight days later Breedlove would make another attempt.
1979 Budweiser Rocket Car
The Budweiser rocket car is mired in controversy. Financed by movie director Hal Needham-remember Smokey and the Bandit? -built by William Fredrick and driven by ex-Air Force pilot Stan Barret, the car may or may not have broken the sound barrier in 1979. The answer depends on who you ask. On December 17, 1979, Barret rocketed this missile-shaped car, which employed a liquid hydrogen peroxide jet engine and two solid-fuel booster engines, down Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force base. Neither the FIA nor the SCTA, the two most widely recognized sanctioning bodies, were present. Allegedly, the car went 739.66 mph, which on a cold day (20 degrees F) would have beaten the sound barrier. But this was a speed briefly measured, based on data from the Air Force's radar installation and accelerometers mounted in the car, not over a timed, measured distance as is the accepted practice. For unknown reasons, another official run was not attempted. The run is generally not recognized, although even Chuck Yeager claimed that photos showed visible shock waves and that the rear wheels lifted off the ground, two signs that the car had gone supersonic. Bystanders didn't report hearing any sonic booms, however. The debate continues
2004 Buckeye Bullet
Land speed racing has always been a venue where engineers and backyard tinkerers explore fresh ideas. At Bonnevillewe've seen supercharged mini bikes and air-powered streamliners. Electric vehicles, like the Buckeye Bullet, are appearing with greater frequency. Amazingly, this car was built by a group of Ohio University students. Some 10,000 C-cell NiMH batteries-the battery pack literally weighs a ton-provide the energy, and a 400 horsepower electric motor drives a five-speed gearbox. In October 2004, the car set an electric-vehicle speed record of 314.96 mph. The record still stands.
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