Already Broken
Road & Track|December 2022 - January 2023
A requiem for speed records
By Mike Duff
 Already Broken

The first recognized automotive speed record was set in 1898 by the French aristocrat Count Charles-François Gaston Louis Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat. He entered an electric Jeantaud in a test organized by an early auto magazine and covered the flying kilometer in well under a minute. Like 57 seconds. Astounding.

That's 39.24 mph! That was barely faster than a galloping horse and much slower than the speediest locomotives of the era. Yet the car would soon overwhelm the train. In 1904, an elegant 4-4-0 steamer belonging to England's Great Western Railway became the first vehicle in the world to (disputably) break the 100mph barrier, albeit briefly and on a falling gradient. Two months later, Louis Rigolly, another Frenchman, pushed the automotive record to 103.56 mph in a 13.5-liter Gobron-Brillié race car. From that point on, the land speed record has been held by loosely defined automobiles and the occasional rocket-propelled sled.

The bar soon jumped as increasingly powerful cars, and increasingly brave drivers flung themselves at glory. Benchmarks fell quickly: 150 mph in 1925, 200 mph in 1927, and 300 mph in 1935, when Malcolm Campbell took his Blue Bird V, powered by a supercharged Rolls-Royce aero engine making a reputed 2300 hp, to the salt at Bonneville. But record-setting also proved dangerous; onetime record holders J.G. Parry-Thomas, a Brit, in 1927 and Frank Lockhart, an American, in 1928 both died during failed attempts. Many other record-setters were killed chasing ever further-out benchmarks before World War II.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ROAD & TRACKView all
TURD ON THE RUN
Road & Track

TURD ON THE RUN

IN THE LATE SIXTIES, THE ROLLING STONES BUILT A MOBILE RECORDING STUDIO ON THE BACK OF A FARM TRUCK AND CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
I Got a Guy..
Road & Track

I Got a Guy..

There exist people with very particular sets of skills. Skills acquired over long careers. Skills that make them a godsend for people like us. They are the specialists.

time-read
10 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
LONG TAILS
Road & Track

LONG TAILS

THE BEAUTIFUL AND BIZARRE RACE CARS DESIGNED TO CONQUER A SINGLE STRIP OF PAVEMENT.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING
Road & Track

EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING

Winner, Over $100,000: Porsche Taycan Turbo GT

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
THE GREAT PRETENDER
Road & Track

THE GREAT PRETENDER

Winner, Under $100,000: Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
BREAKS, NOT BENDS
Road & Track

BREAKS, NOT BENDS

SINGER'S DIVETRACK TELLS A VERY NICHE KIND OF TIME.

time-read
1 min  |
December 2024/January 2025
RADIAL FLYER
Road & Track

RADIAL FLYER

A MEYERS MANX WITH AN AIRPLANE ENGINE IS A WEIRD FIX FOR SPEED ADDICTION.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
THE BALLAD OF CRAZY ROCKETMAN
Road & Track

THE BALLAD OF CRAZY ROCKETMAN

WHAT A BUILDER OF PULSE-JET-ENGINE VEHICLES CAN TELL US ABOUT MOTORING PASSION.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
SOCIETÀ UTOPICA
Road & Track

SOCIETÀ UTOPICA

THE PAGANI UTOPIA IS MORE THAN JUST A CAR. IT'S A HANDCRAFTED INVITATION TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE MOTORING CLUBS.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
ST.ELMO'S FIRE
Road & Track

ST.ELMO'S FIRE

AN INDIANAPOLIS RESTAURANT WITH FACEMELTING SHRIMP HAS BEEN A DE FACTO RACING CLUBHOUSE FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025