While we all know the story of the land speed battle between Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons but what of the fight between John Cobb and George Eyston in the 1930s? These two men had massive cars with huge engines and innovative designs. They traded the land speed record back and forth several times and they did it at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This video tells the story, mostly of John Cobb’s side and the triumphs of the engineering and performance of the car known as the Railton Mobil Special.
Like so many things, WWII interrupted what was a promising first couple of seasons of competition on the salt flats. Cobb got back to it after the war, shipping the car back to England, having the engines supercharged, working on new fuel, and most importantly working on the transmission system to keep the engines happy under acceleration.
It was 1947 when he really let the salt have it and drove his way into history, becoming the first man to drive anything over 400 miles per hour. This is a great video and awesome history!
