LAND SPEED ATTEMPT

Grey River Argus, 21 May 1938, Page 5

LAND SPEED ATTEMPT

John Cobb’s Car OVER 800 HORSEPOWER PER TON. Two Napier aero engines, each developing 1250 h.p. and designed originally for Schneider Trophy racing seaplanes of several years ago, provide power in the extraordinary car with which Mr John Cobb pronoses to attack the land speed .record of 312 m.p.h., says a recent bulletin of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors. Further to emphasise the extent to which the car’s downers have drawn upon aeronautical engineers the entire vehicle is shaped to afford the best possible streamline form, and the body is made of light aluminium alloys of kinds developed for aircraft construction. There is no break in the external lines of the body, except for the “cockpit” cover, which again is made of toughened elastic material used nowadays for the cocknits of military aircraft. Mr Cobb is reticent about the speed he expects from the new car. He says simply that it is designed to beat the present record. As Captain Evston, the present holder, plans to better his own figures in an improved and modified “Thunderbolt,” the likelihood is that Mr Cobb and his associates are thinking of not less than 350 m.p.h. Compared with its rival. Cobb’s car Jis small, weighing less than three tons against more than seven tons. Many experts express doubts whether ‘he smaller car is not too light for the ioh. and whether it mav not be ‘oo light to handle safely at speeds ->f more than five miles a minute. The Nanier Schneider engine was ’oveloped from the Standard Napier '.ion water-corded 12-ey Under unit, hundreds of which were supplied to the Royal Air Force during a long neriod after the war. The most re■xent racing engine was notable in that, ■t fieveioned i9-o h n. from 24 litres af swent cylindrical capacity) more ‘han 50 h.n. n"r rt-n and that, thank" ‘o abnormally high-compression ra,;o, it achieved the phenomenal speci'ic fuel consumption of 0.32 lb. per horsepower per hour, which is con--■derablv more economic than the *nost efficient nickel aero engine.