In 1963, Craig Breedlove drove the Spirit of America to 407.45 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The car had three wheels and a surplus military jet engine. That run beat a record that had stood since 1947, when John Cobb set it.
Breedlove did not come from a big factory team. Instead, he started with a modest budget, donated shop space and a $500 surplus jet engine. Over the next few years, he and his car pushed the record higher again and again.
Here is how the Spirit of America came together, why its record caused an argument and how far Breedlove pushed it afterward.
Building the Spirit of America on a shoestring
The project began in early 1960, according to the Museum of American Speed. Breedlove bought a $500 military surplus J-47 jet engine. Then machine shop owner Ed Perkins committed shop space and $10,000 to the effort. Later, Goodyear and Shell signed on to support the team.
The finished car cost $250,000, according to History.com. The same page says the engine came from a Navy jet. Meanwhile, the car rode on a three-wheeled chassis and used rudder steering, the museum notes.
The Spirit of America debuted at Bonneville in 1962. During that first outing, Shell shipped in a replacement engine, and the crew installed it in 12 hours, the museum says. For 1963, the team added a six-foot tail fin.
The 407.45 mph run
A land speed record takes two timed runs through a measured mile within one hour, History.com explains. Officials then average the two speeds. So a driver has to be fast in both directions, not just once.
Breedlove’s average came to 407.45 mph. That beat John Cobb’s 394.2 mph mark from 1947, according to History.com. The museum adds that the run returned the record to America after 34 years of British land speed dominance. However, the two sources differ on the month. The museum dates the run to August 5, while History.com places it in October 1963.
The setting, on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, helped too. Its salt surface absorbed water, which kept the track cool, History.com notes. That is one reason the salt flats drew so many speed trials and drag races.
Why the record started an argument
Not everyone accepted the result. The FIA, the sanctioning body for car records, refused to certify it, the museum says. The car did not have four wheels, and the wheels did not drive it. Instead, the jet’s thrust pushed it forward.
The FIM, which governs motorcycle racing, did recognize the record. As a result, two land speed records existed side by side for a time. Then, in 1964, the FIA and FIM agreed to recognize records for any vehicle running on wheels, according to the museum.
Past 500 mph, and a wild ride
The Spirit of America kept going. On October 15, 1964, it became the first car to travel faster than 500 mph, the museum reports. History.com gives the speed as 526.28 mph.
That run nearly ended badly, though. The braking parachute snapped off, and the car left the course, History.com says. It struck telephone poles and ended up in a salt pond. Fortunately, Breedlove climbed out through the rooftop hatch.
Meanwhile, the record kept changing hands. Between 1964 and 1965, Breedlove, Tom Green and Art Arfons traded the title among themselves, History.com notes. Arfons drove a home-built car called the Green Monster.
Sonic 1 and the car’s final home
Breedlove went on to set two more records, the museum says, including the first above 600 mph in a new car, Spirit of America – Sonic 1. On November 15, 1965, at Bonneville, he averaged 600.601 mph, according to History.com. He was 28 years old. His first run that day clocked 593.178 mph. Then the return run reached 608.201 mph, which History.com describes as the first officially recorded run over 600 mph. Because the rules count the average, the record went down as 600.601 mph rather than the faster single pass.
Afterward, Breedlove summed it up simply. “That 600 is about a thousand times better than 599,” he said, as History.com reports. His mark lasted nearly five years, until Gary Gabelich’s Blue Flame reached 622.4 mph.
The original three-wheeler survives. Yadira Breedlove later donated the Spirit of America to the Museum of American Speed, according to the museum’s own history of the car.
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