Just a few more days, and the Sunbeam 1000hp will be on display at the Concours d'Elegance on the sparkling Pacific beach at Pebble Beach. This will be the first public appearance of the restored record-breaking car, in which Henry Segrave became the first driver to exceed 200 miles per hour—or 327 km/h—on March 29, 1927, in Daytona Beach. This feat was achieved using two massive aircraft engines, which were installed and coupled at the front and rear of the car.
Three years of work and a lot of money
The complex system soon malfunctioned, and for demonstration purposes, the Sunbeam housed at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu was driven using only one engine. It took the museum three years of work, plus substantial donations, to restore the car to its original condition, as there were neither technical manuals nor documentation. The fact that the two engines did not quite reach the impressive-sounding 1,000 horsepower even back then is not commented on further.
Counter-rotating aircraft engines
Both 22.5-liter Matabele V12 aircraft engines were—along with the rest of the vehicle—meticulously disassembled and restored. The goal is a low-speed demonstration run in March 2027 in Daytona, marking the 100th anniversary of Sir Henry’s record-breaking run. The challenge was to synchronize both engines—which rotate in opposite directions—and run them together again for the first time in nearly a century. However, the test runs were successful, and setting a new record isn’t the goal anyway.
A Legend’s Trip to America
After Pebble Beach, the Sunbeam will be on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. More information about the Sunbeam’s U.S. itinerary, its history, and its restoration can be found on this website.
