Goldenrod Race Car 1965 Land Speed Record Setter
Automotive History
•
7m 16s
In 1965 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, brothers Bill and Bob Summers set a new land speed record for a wheel-driven automobile – 409.277 miles per hour – with Goldenrod, a bullet of a car powered by four Chrysler Hemi V-8 engines producing 600 horsepower each. Goldenrod simultaneously represented cutting-edge design and a throwback to traditional automotive power. This revolutionary race car can be found on the floor of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Detroit, Michigan.
Up Next in Automotive History
-
How the 1965 Lotus-Ford Racecar Revol...
The 1965 Lotus-Ford is one of the seminal cars in American racing history. In 1965 Scotsman Jim Clark drove this car to victory in the Indianapolis 500. A few years earlier, legendary road racer Dan Gurney concluded that the proper application of European Formula One technology could capture the ...
-
How Salt Walther's Indy 500 Crash Led...
Driver Salt Walther suffered serious injuries in a crash at the 1973 Indianapolis 500. He recovered and returned to race the next year.
The remains of Walther's McLaren race car are a reminder of the importance of safety in racing. Walther's survival can be partly attributed to past safety inno...
-
The 1967 Ford Mark IV: Legend of Le Mans
Few auto racing efforts were as ambitious as Ford’s quest to beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most important sports car race, in the 1960s. Ford’s dedication paid off, first in 1966 when GT40s finished 1-2-3 at the French endurance race, and then again in 1967 with an all-Amer...