NEW SPEED RECORD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19929, 24 April 1928, Page 11

NEW SPEED RECORD.

MOTORING IN FLORIDA. TROPHY GOES TO AMERICAN. Australian and N.Z. Press Association. (Received April 23, 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK. April 22. At Daytona Beach, Florida, Kay Keech, driving a triplex special 36-cylindered car owned by Mr. J. M. White, tho Philadelphia motor-car manufacturer, established a new speed record with an average of 207.5526 miles an hour. His time for ono mile was 17.345 seconds. This breaks Captain Campbell's record made at Daytona in February.

The performance of «T. M. White's three-engined car just eclipses Captain Malcolm Campbell's Hying mile record o£ 206.96 miles per hour, established on Daytona Beach on February 19. Sir Charles Wakefield's 1000-guinea trophy accordingly goes to America alter being held by the .British driver for only two months. This trophy carries with it £IOOO a year in cash up to the end of 1930. Prior to Captain Campbell's achievement the world's, record was held by Major H. O. D. Segrave :1 whoso twinengined 1000 h.p. Sunbeam attained 303.79 miles per hour at Daytona in March, 1927. Designers of high-speed cars in both America and Britain will be taken by surprise at the record put up by Mr. White's mammoth car. It was regarded as freakish when it was introduced as a competitor against Captain Campbell's Napier-Lion machine aud Mr. Frank Lockhart's Stutz. American sponsors of record-breaking pinned their, faith to the Stutz, but it was_ wrecked when it was exceeding 200 miles per hour. The American Automobile Association had no hopes for Mr. White's car, and it was debarred from these trials, on account of the absence of a reverse gear and rear springs. An American critic then remarked that it was not so much a disqualification as a reprieve. The three engines are ordinary Liberty aeroplane type, with 12 cylinders and an output of 500 horse-power. The car thus had 1500 horse-power available for propulsion. The weight of the car is 80001b. At full speed its petrol consumption would bo at the rate of over 100 gallons an hour. Captain Campbell's single-engined car developed 875 horsepower.;