Thunderbolt 6 record wheels – 1937
George Eyston, a former WWI artillery officer, who will become an international pilot in the years 1920 by participating in various grand prizes and 24 Hours of Le Mans 1928 and 1929. In the years 1930, he’s heading for speed records, by getting in April 1932 the hour-long average speed record aboard a Panhard, he’s going to drive the Thunderbolt.
The Thunderbolt conception, will be funded by George Eyston himself with the help of patrons. But Eyston is also an engineer and files several patents during the design of the Thunderbolt, relating in particular to the supercharging of engines or to the work of high-efficiency gearboxes.
The Thunderbolt is designed around two V12 Rolls Royce R engines, which were aircraft engines but also the same as those used on one of Campbell's cars : la BlueBird. Each engine had a displacement of 36,5 liters and developed 2.350Hp. It should be noted that engines of this type were rare (about 20 manufactured units), so much so that the competition between Campbell and Eyston was cordial, the first lending a spare engine to the second.
But with such developed power, this requires major innovations on the chassis so that it can withstand the shock, which involves working with resistant materials. The same goes for transmission, the gears… The chassis is made at Bean Work (Britain), it includes three axles and eight tires (twin rear axle) to better distribute the weight of the beast, who weighed over 7 tonnes !
As for the bodywork, Eyston hires Frenchman Jean Andreau to design an aerodynamic car. It was made of plates made of an aluminum alloy, linked together by polite silver. Thunderbolt has a large tail in the back, which is flanked by a hydraulically operated air brake.
Thunderbolt ready to run at the end of the year 1937, the car thus joins the salt lake of Bonneville in the United States, she rolls there 19 November of the same year and signs his first speed record there : 502,12km/h. For his first gallop, Thunderbolt becomes the first automobile to cross the 500km / h mark.
The Thunderbolt is a six-wheeler designed for the Bonneville Salt Flats.
specifications :
- 2 moteurs Rolls Royce Type ‘R’ Schneider Aircraft for a total displacement of 73164 cm2.
- 5000 ch
- Length : 9,27m
- Height : 1,16m
- Weight : more than 7 tonnes
- 6 wheels
- wheelbase : 5,24m
In this car, Captain Eyston sets three land speed records :
- 502,115 km / h on 19 November 1937
- 555,224 km / h on 27 August 1938
- 574,536 km/h (TGV East record) the 15 September 1938
The Thunderbolt was then exhibited here and there around the world to salute its record, but the car was destroyed in a fire while it was on display in New Zealand running 1939. The story of this car ends this year by force of circumstance ...
Thanks to Virginie Maneval for her image research.
Source : https://lautomobileancienne.com/
