SPEED CHALLENGE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXI, Issue 12, 27 December 1930, Page 15

SPEED CHALLENGE

AT KAITAIA IN MARCH. BEST ENGINE AND BEST BEACH. NORMAN SMITH’S CONFIDENCE. Never has a man faced a big task with more confidence, than Norman Smith, who next March intends making an attempt on a New Zealand beach to better the late Sir Henry Segrave’s record of 231.36 m.pJi. Not only is he confident of bettering the existing figures, but of adding at least 40 miles per hour to the world’s fastest land speed. The reasons for Norman Smith’s confidence is that he will have one of the finest and most efficient engines that Great Britain has produced—giving off over one horse-power to every pound weight of metal.

Although the "Hush Hush” Napier engine, of which no details are permitted by the British .Government, develops twice the power of the engine in Segrave’s Dunlop shod "Golden Arrow,” it bulks considerably smaller, enabling a lower set machine to be constructed. It will be the most efficient engine ever fitted in a chassis and its tremendous power is made possible by perfect ba'ancing. high revolutions, and supercharging. Another important fact that makes Smith so confident, is the wonderful beach at Kaitaia, upon which he will make his attempt. At the Daytona Beach (U.S.A, upon which Segrave, Campbell and Keech all established records of over 200 m.p.h., there is only a 9 miles stretch of suitable hard sand available; the timed course being the ' central mile. Experts claim that its maximum speed carrying capacity has nearly been reached. On the New Zealand beach there is a 30 miles stretch of perfect sand, so hard after the tide has receded that c heavy pneumatic tyred vehicle . leaves no indentation —only a slight feathering of the top grams of the Lard sand, showing where the suction of the tyres have turned over the top film of sand. Smooth as glass, there is practically no vibration or dithering of wheels. When Segrave recorded his last great drive at Daytona, the "Golden Arrow,” through striking a email rut on the beach leapt 47 feet, before touching the sand again. After Norman Smith’s run at 160 m.p.h. for one mile and 148 m.p.h. for 10 miles on the N.Z. beach in January, 1930, he examined the track of his ear on the sand and In no instance was thSre evi dence of the wheels ever having lost contact with tho hard sand! furthermore his car, even at 160 m.p.h. called for no special effort in steering, in fact, the iniicmuc almost steered itself.

Summed up, tho reasons for Norman Smith’s great confidence is that he has the finest engine .ever used by an contender for the world's speed Blue Riband, whilst ho is satisfied that tho Kaitaia Beach :s many miles faster and considerably safer than ’he Daytona Beach, upon which so many classic world’s records have been established. The Napier power unit arrived in Sydney recently, and every effort is being made at the engineering wjrks of Harkness and Hillier to have the car finished in ample time for the great event, in March next.