1929 Golden Arrow

Of all the cars that have been used in the pursuit of the coveted , perhaps the most striking in many people’s eyes was Major ’s Golden Arrow.

Successful British racing driver Major Henry Segrave had been the first man to exceed 200mph/321.87kph on land, taking the 1,000hp Sunbeam to a record speed of 203.792mph/327.971kph at Daytona in 1927. raised the record to 206.956mph/333.063kph in February 1928 only to have America’s Ray Keech in the Triplex Special exceed this by a little over 0.5mph/0.81kph a month later! Segrave was determined to retake the record for Britain.

Figure 1 : Major Henry Segrave with Irving-Napier Special Golden Arrow at Daytona Beach shortly before his successful attempt to exceed 200mph/321.87kph on land 11 March 1929.

The National Motor Museum Trust : Beaulieu : Brockenhurst : Hampshire : SO42 7ZN

1 Officially named the Irving-Napier Special, but popularly referred to as Golden Arrow, the car was masterminded by Captain J.S. Irving, previously the designer of the 1,000hp Sunbeam. The engine for the project was a W12 aero engine of the same type used in seaplanes. With an output of 925bhp at 3,300rpm allied to the car’s low frontal area, Irving hoped that Golden Arrow would be capable of 240mph/386.24kph.

Golden Arrow was built in the works of KLG at Putney Vale in West London. As with other such projects, many leading British companies contributed to the construction. Major sponsors were Henry Horne and Oliver Piper of Portland Cement, with further backing from BP, C.C. Wakefield and Sir William Rootes. Industrial contributors included Vickers, Gloster, Hardy Spicer and Clayton Dewandre. The streamlined aluminium body work was built by coach builders Thrupp & Maberley whilst the specially designed tyres were provided by Dunlop.

Figure 2: Irving-Napier Special Golden Arrow at the KLG works at Putney Vale, West London.

The National Motor Museum Trust : Beaulieu : Brockenhurst : Hampshire : SO42 7ZN

2 Golden Arrow was shipped to Daytona in February 1929 where Segrave made two 180mph/289.68kph test runs. A two week wait for a suitable period of good weather followed before he was able to make his attempt on 11 March 1929. Huge crowds assembled on Daytona Beach to watch as the 23.9 litre car made its two timed runs through the measured mile; 15.55 seconds on the first run, 15.57 on the second. The speed of 231.446mph/372.46kph exceeded the previous record by 24mph/38.62kph!

The following day an attempt to re-take the record for the USA ended in tragedy when the Triplex Special, this time driven by Lee Bible, skidded, killing both the driver and a nearby film cameraman.

Segrave returned home to Britain to receive a hero’s welcome and a knighthood but, as many believe, was shaken by Bible’s death. His attention turned to the using Lord Wakefield’s new boat Miss II. Tragically on 13 June 1930, having succeeded in setting a record of 98.76mph/158.94kph, Sir Henry was killed when the boat hit a floating object on Windermere.

Following its record breaking run and return to Britain, Golden Arrow was placed in store. It has been displayed at Beaulieu since 1958.

Manufacturer: K.L.G., Robin Hood Works, Putney Vale, London to a design by Captain J.S. Irving. Engine: Napier Lion W12 (3 rows of 4 cylinders). Capacity: 23.9 litres. Output: 925bhp at 3,300rpm. Max. Speed: 231.446mph/372.476kph.

The National Motor Museum Trust : Beaulieu : Brockenhurst : Hampshire : SO42 7ZN

3 Further Reading:

Clarke, R.M., 1999. The land speed record 1898–1999. Cobham: Books.

Posthumus, C., 1961. Sir Henry Segrave. London: Batsford Publishing.

Posthumus, C. & Tremayne, D., 1985. Landspeed record. London: Osprey Publishing.

Last updated: 18 November 2009.

The National Motor Museum Trust : Beaulieu : Brockenhurst : Hampshire : SO42 7ZN

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