Description

Spirit of America (racing)

Spirit of America was the first of the modern record breaking jet-propelled cars, built with a narrow streamlined fuselage, three-wheel chassis, and, most significantly, turbojet engine. Like most of the other competing vehicles, the engine was ex-military. The first Spirit had a General Electric J47 engine from an F-86 and was tested at Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962, where difficult handling resulted in failure. Before trying again, a new stabilizer and steerable front wheel were added.

Breedlove set his first record on September 5, 1963, at Bonneville, the first man to set an average speed of over 400 mph (640 km/h) during a land speed record attempt. (John Cobb had already exceeded this 400 mph mark in 1947, but had not sustained it as an average over both runs.)

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