G. E. T. EYSTON'S NEW RECORD BREAKER

G. E. T. EYSTON’S NEW RECORD BREAKER

4,800 M.P. FOR 350 M.P.H. BID Great Britain has produced yet another car with which to attack world’s flying start short distance records, or, in the eyes of all the non-technical world, to attempt to further raise the ” motor-car speed record,” held by Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Rolls-Royce-engined car, for this country, at 301 m.p.h. The new car is the work of Capt. George Edward Thomas Eyston, and never before has anyone kept so stupendous a task so

quiet. The daily Press news-hawks, who are usually quick to send motoring stories, even if not accurate in their presentation, only managed to get pictures of the partially-completed monster as F,ystort sailed for America to inspect the Utah salt-lake course. Eyston aims to raise the record to around 350 m.p.h., and as “Bluebird,” the present holder, would require 50 per cent. extra horse-power to realise this speed in theory, the new car has been given two engines of the make and type used by Sir Malcolm, so that double the power is available, or approximately 4,800 to 5,000 b.h.p. It seems likely that to accommodate these two engines will necessitate a greater frontal area than that of the present record-holder, but against this must be set the 100 per cent. additional power. Capt. Eyston has chosen the make of engine that has figured in recent speed attempts of this nature on land and water and which is accepted as best for our control of the sky—the Rolls-Royce. These two twelve cylinder Rolls-Royce aero-engines are mounted side by side behind the driver, and they drive a central three-speed gearbox via a train of gears. The gearbox drives a bevel-box mounted on the chassis frame and the rear wheels are driven by jointed shafts from this box, being carried on wishbone links and con trolled by transverse springs. At the front are four wheels, all inter-connected for steering purposes, but all separately sprung by transverse links and transverse leaf-springs set above the linkage. The brake drums are carried apart from the wheels, those at the front being connected to the second pair of wheels by shafts. Thus unsprung weight is conserved and heat is kept from the tyres. There are also novel air-brakes at the tail. The wheels are of disc pattern. The driver sits on the off side, ahead of the engines, and the body is a shell enclosing the wheels, having an ” airship ” nose, and a fairly short tail possessed of a very large and high stabilising fin. The radiator is carried in the nose and is .a deep, hexagonal ” box “with large feed pipes. It will be seen that Eyston’s car breaks fresh and revolutionary ground in respect of its engine location and wheel arrangement. Independent suspension is also unique in this sphere of activity. Consequently the recordattempt should have a very high research value. On the other hand, it is interesting that the drive is still taken to a single axle, at the rear of the car, while the streamlining is of more straightforward conception than that of several of the “Bluebirds.” The cockpit is enclosed, but this can hardly be regarded as revolutionary nowadays, when closed cockpits have figured successfully in long-distance record runs. Eyston’s attempt will undoubtedly give rise to sceptical queries as to the value of these ultra high-speed dashes in freak, high

powered cars. A sufficient answer is that the realms of higher research must not be allowed to stagnate, apart from the possibility of America striking a surprise blow to British prestige in this sphere, as Ray Keech once did years ago, and Fred Dixon’s 10-litre 350 m.p.h. car is nowhere near complete, anyway. So the warmest wishes to the success of Eyston’s newest, and boldest, venture. It is difficult to give accurately the actual power of his car. Some reports give it as double that of Campbell’s car, i.e., 4,800 h.p., others prefer the round figure of 5,000, others quote 6,000. By way of emphasising the enormously increased output of these special engines, the output of a standard 27-litre Rolls-Royce ” Merlin ” is just over 1,000 h.p. Which draws attention to the highly specialised engineering technique devoted to creating these cars. We humbly suggest that the time is ripe for a book dealing with postwar attacks on the” Land Speed Record.” Such a book might well be named “Into the Unknown.”