Call to find families of Sunbeam workers who built famous land speed record car in Wolverhampton
Families of Sunbeam workers who built the famous 1,000hp land speed record car in 1927 at the company’s Wolverhampton works are being urged to come forward.
Sunbeam 1,000hp will be on the National Motor Museum stand at the NEC’s Classic Motor Show in Birmingham this weekend.
Staff at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu are appealing for help in trying to identify any workers who helped build Sir Henry Segrave’s land speed record-breaking 1927 Sunbeam 1,000hp.
The four-tonne, 23’6” car was built at Sunbeam’s Wolverhampton works with the aim of being the first vehicle to break the 200mph barrier.
With Segrave driving, the car achieved this milestone on March 29, 1927 at Daytona Beach in Florida with a top speed of 203.792mph over the flying mile.
The car itself was a miracle of engineering.
Two 22.45-litre Sunbeam ‘Matabele’ aero engines were installed behind and in front of the driver, linked together and driven through a three-speed gearbox.
Almost every part of the car was built in Great Britain, most sourced from the automotive powerhouse that was the West Midlands.
