11.5MPH was the average speed at the first "race" in 1894 and it's probably safe to say they rose by about 10MPH each year. Don't forget also some of these cars had engines up to 650cu/in and more but some only revved to about 1800RPM. The size of the bore was everything to these guys back then.
In fact that Henry Ford in his 1901 "Sweepstakes" racer, 26 HP, which won the 10 mile feature at an average speed of 45mph. Defeating the 70 HP Winton, and securing prestige and funds to restart his company, and thus Ford Motor Co.
The first pic is Savannah, rest Indy. Special Note! The last pic is of Indy being graded pre-brickyard to the best of my knowledge...that's the way the pic was marked anyway. Fascinating.
A terrific photo of the Harry C Stutz (HCS) Team at the 1923 Indianapolis race, a gorgeous pair of immaculately prepared Miller 122's. Milton (left) won, Wilcox lost his clutch on lap 60. At this time, the 122 was producing 235 HP at 5800 rpm.
Another gorgeous shot of DePalma and the ill-fated but beautiful Packard 122. All were underdeveloped and failed by mid race.
This MAY sound sacreligous, but I wonder what it would look like with fenders, lights, and a swept windshield !
Great thread Kurtis and all that have contributed. Hopefully will add some stuff as time goes on-right now buried with work-glad I didn't see this earlier or I may have played hookey.-Jim
This photo is a good example of something I've been thinking about for years. It is Herb Ardinger in the Bowes Seal Fast car at INDY in 1936. The car also ran in the 1935, 1934,1933, and 1931 INDY 500 the exists today and is restored. Sure would be neat to compile a list of all the cars that ran INDY 1930-39, 1940-49 etc. they were the ones with long lifespans, and many still exist today.
The Great Jimmy Murphy in the 3rd place finishing 1923 Durant-Miller 122 at Indianapolis. He was the previous year's winner in a hybrid Duesenberg with a Miller 183 installed.
1910 Vanderbilt Cup, October 1 in Long Island. If you've read this far, and you haven't seen this website: http://www.rumbledrome.com/10stats.html, then GO! Note the pits, when they REALLY were pits!
That's in 1901, the man on the running board with Henry is Spider Huff. A little more than a decade later with Kulick, Fords factory driver, at the wheel of this T below they set a new worlds record on ice of 107.78 mph. A factory prepped, flathead model T powered car running 107 and change, amazing. The car was named 999-II after Henrys second racer the 999 car. 1912 on Lake St. Clair.
Thanks kurtis for bringing up this thread and above all the magnificent photos ! My favourite: the 1904 Gobron Brillie land speed record car (100 mph in 1904) which was used in the 1906 French Grand Prix at Dieppe and again in 1908. Four cylinder engine with eight pistons (opposed), running on alcohol fuel (110 bhp) and a chassis made out of tubing. Louis Rigolly driving...
Yes, the Gobron Brillie was by all reports just a road car. Amazing speed for that time. I'd love to see some pics with it's full body.
Although I would never use it in the design of a car personally, and this particular fairing to contain tires never caught on, it is uniquely Peugeot and is quite dramatic! A study I did, (like many, using old modeler's profiles as guides) of the Peugeot.
Quote: "Yes, the Gobron Brillie was by all reports just a road car. Amazing speed for that time. I'd love to see some pics with it's full body. " I found a bad scan of a very bad photo and a small drawing of the attempt at streamlining on the 1904 Gobron Brillie. On most photos they appear to be racing without a hood. PS: That Maxwell boxer is stunning PS: Walter Christie: one of the greatest automotive engineers ever ? (His tanks appear to be just as excentric as his cars !) PSS: The boy doing a handstand...okay, but why would you want to hang a dead fish on an angling rod in front of a racecar ???? <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->
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