Mephistopheles in a speed mania
03/06/2011
In 1908, FIAT sold the latest achievement from the racing department to the Englishman Sir George Abercromby, the SB 4 Grand Prix racing car. During a test drive, factory driver Felice Nazzaro (see picture) reached a speed of 190 km/h. The car was equipped with an 18-litre four-cylinder engine (190 mm x 1. 5 mm) and weighed around 1200 kg. The approximately 175 hp Fiat SB 4 was equipped with an 18-liter four-cylinder engine (190 mm x 160 mm) and weighed around 1200 kg. The SB4 was equipped with chain drive to the rear axle and minimal bodywork, as was customary at the time. The English gentleman wanted to use it to compete against the 6-cylinder Napier on the Brooklands race track. History is silent about his successes. After the First World War, John Duff competed again with this already outdated monster. However, the 18-liter exploded during a drive and John Duff sold the remaining fragments on the spot to Ernest Eldridge. Eldridge is said to have paid 25 pounds!
Eldridge had a dream, a vision. He wanted to be the fastest over the "flying kilometer". So he extended the chassis of the SB4 and installed the A-12 aircraft engine from Fiat. 21 liters, overhead camshaft, 2 carburetors, but 4 valves and 4 plugs per cylinder. This monster is said to have developed 320 hp at 1800 rpm. Its name: "Mephistopheles" - derived directly from the demon from the devilish underworld.
At the beginning of July 1924, Ernest Eldridge on "Mephistopheles" and René Thomas on a Delage V12 with 350 hp faced off on a dead straight track near Arpjaon (approx. 30 km southwest of Paris). The aim was to set a new world record for the "flying kilometer". Despite the adventurous handling of his "Mephistopheles", Eldridge managed to set a new world record of 230.55 km/h on July 5. However, René Thomas - the winner of the Indianapolis 500 miles in 1914 - protested because the "Mephistopheles" had no reverse gear. The jury agreed with him and the very next day Thomas set a valid record on the Delage: 230.63 km/h. In the meantime, Eldridge had a "reverse gear" fitted and faced the starter again on July 12. And now it worked. The stewards calculated 234.97 km/h. A world record!
Notes: How did Eldridge manage to install a reverse gear in the housing in such a short time? The question remains unanswered - the gearbox is said to have disappeared since that July 23, 1924. Did Mephistopheles have a hand in this?
The Eldridge vehicle was one of the main attractions at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
