The Magic Midgets were a number of record-breaking 750cc "midget" MG cars of the 1930s. They were most notably, but not always, driven by George Eyston .
25-401: Although of small engine capacity, they were frequently supercharged to increase performance. Never as fast as the aero-engined land speed record behemoths driven by the likes of Henry Segrave , they set numerous speed records for their engine capacity class. In 1929, MG were attempting to develop their M-type Midget for racing. The rear axle leaf springs were mounted in sliding trunnions at
50-511: A commemorative coin . From 1906 to 1914 the Club regulated major races in France and established the rules for the annual national race dubbed a Grand Prix that was open to competitors from any country. World War I disrupted racing in France until 1921 at which time the national event returned under the official name "ACF Grand Prix" (French: Grand Prix de l'A.C.F. ). This name was used until 1967 when it
75-621: A hair salon and a travel agency. On 16 January 1906 the French Automobile Club licensed the département of Sarthe to organize an auto race. Their historical action marked the beginning of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the French Grand Prix . Organized Grand Prix motor racing evolved to become the Paris-based Formula One organization. The 100th anniversary of the event was marked by the government of France issuing
100-468: A racing replica of it: the C-type or Montlhéry Midget, which was available with or without supercharger. Eyston was never satisfied with merely reaching a speed when he could use the same car to break several records by maintaining it for longer periods. He set out to hold 100 mph for an hour, using EX120. The car reached this speed, but then the engine caught fire. Still at a speed of around 60 mph,
125-558: A speed of 403.10 miles per hour (648.73 km/h) on Lake Eyre , Australia. This became the official FIA LSR, although Campbell was disappointed not to have beaten Breedlove's time. In October, several four-wheel jet-cars surpassed the 1963 mark, but were eligible for neither FIA nor FIM ratification. The confusion of having three different LSRs lasted until December 11, 1964, when the FIA and FIM met in Paris and agreed to recognize as an absolute LSR
150-577: A two-way average of 446.63 km/h (277.52 mph) in September 1965. Five weeks later, Goodyear hit back against Firestone with Lee Breedlove . While recordkeeping has not been as extensive, a report in 1974 confirmed that a record was held by Lee Breedlove, the wife of then overall record holder Craig Breedlove , who piloted her husband's Spirit of America – Sonic I to a record 496.492 km/h (308.506 mph) in 1965. According to author Rachel Kushner , Craig Breedlove had talked Lee into taking
175-634: A vehicle of the North American Eagle Project running at the Alvord Desert, raised the women's four-wheel land speed class record with an official run of 632.40 km/h (392.954 mph), surpassing Breedlove's 48-year-old record. Combs continued with the North American Eagle Project, whose ongoing target is the overall land speed record; as part of that effort, Combs was killed, on August 27, 2019, during an attempt to raise
200-502: Is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), respective governing bodies for racing in automobiles and motorcycles (two or three wheels), both bodies recognise as the absolute LSR whatever is the highest speed record achieved across any of their various categories. While
225-501: The EX120 . On 30 December 1930 at Montlhéry , EX120 set its first records, beating the Austin Sevens . In search of even faster speeds, it was decided to supercharge the car, using Eyston's own Powerplus design of supercharger. In February 1931, again at Montlhéry, this became the first 750cc car to exceed 100 mph, at 103.13 mph. After this success, MG were prompted to produce
250-654: The Hôtel de Crillon and the Hôtel de Coislin [ fr ] , where France signed a treaty by which it became the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States. The members of the Automobile Club of France enjoy several lounges, a swimming pool, a gym, a library containing more than 50,000 references, a movie theatre, bars, and dining rooms. Numerous activities are offered, including yoga, squash, shooting, billiards, and fencing. The facilities also include
275-677: The Eyston's tall figure managed to jump from the tiny enclosed cockpit, counting on his past fox-hunting experience to roll through the landing without serious injury. The car was destroyed, and Eyston then filed another of his many patents for fire-proof asbestos overalls. View of MG with driver (from above). Round-topped aeroscreen. Eyston in Magic Midget (EX120). Front R quarter view (newsprint photograph reproduction). No screen. Eyston in Magic Midget (EX120?), detail of cockpit rear LH wheel and tail. Small square flush-mounted screen. EX127
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#1733084749569300-402: The FIA and other car-racing organisations, Guinness World Records does recognize gender-based land speed records. In 1906, Dorothy Levitt broke the women's world speed record for the flying kilometer, recording a speed of 154 km/h (96 mph) and receiving the sobriquet the "Fastest Girl on Earth". She drove a six-cylinder Napier motorcar , a 75 kW (100 hp) development of
325-775: The K5, in a speed trial in Blackpool . in 1963, Paula Murphy drove a Studebaker Avanti to 262 km/h (163 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats as part of Andy Granatelli 's attempt on the overall record. In 1964, she was asked by the tire company Goodyear to try to improve her own record, which she raised to 364.31 km/h (226.37 mph) in Walt Arfons 's jet dragster Avenger . The rival tire company Firestone and Art Arfons hit back against Goodyear and Walt Arfons when Betty Skelton drove Art's Cyclops to achieve
350-554: The car out for a record attempt in order to monopolize the salt flats for the day and block one of his competitors from making a record attempt. In 1976, the women's absolute record was set by Kitty O'Neil , in the jet-powered, three-wheeled SMI Motivator , at the Alvord Desert . Held back by her contract with a sponsor and using only 60 percent of her car's power, O'Neil reached an average speed of 825.127 km/h (512.710 mph). On October 9, 2013, driver Jessi Combs , in
375-401: The cars are often called salt cars. The FIA does not recognize separate men's and women's land speed records, because the records are set using motorized vehicles , and not muscle-powered vehicles , so the gender of the driver does not matter; however, unofficial women's records have long been claimed, seemingly starting with Dorothy Levitt 's 1906 record in Blackpool , England, and, unlike
400-434: The effects of wind) averaged with a maximum of 30 minutes (later more) between runs, average gradient of the racing surface not more than 1 percent, timing gear accurate within 0.01sec, and cars must be wheel-driven . National or regional auto clubs (such as AAA and SCTA ) had to be AIACR members to ensure records would be recognized. The AIACR became the FIA in 1947. Controversy arose in 1963: Spirit of America
425-578: The four-wheel record. In late June 2020, the Guinness Book of Records reclassified the August 27, 2019 speed runs as meeting its requirements, and Combs was posthumously credited with the record at 841.338 km/h (522.783 mph), noting she was the first to break the record in 40 years. Craig Breedlove 's mark of 407.447 miles per hour (655.722 km/h), set in Spirit of America in September 1963,
450-585: The higher speed recorded by either body, by any vehicles running on wheels, whether wheel-driven or not. French Automobile Club The Automobile Club of France (French: Automobile Club de France ) (ACF) is a men's club founded on 12 November 1895 by Albert de Dion , Paul Meyan [ fr ] , and its first president, the Dutch-born Baron Étienne van Zuylen van Nyevelt . The Automobile Club of France, also known in French as "ACF" or "l'Auto",
475-613: The previous one by at least one percent to be validated. Until 1829 the fastest land transport was by horse. The first regulator was the Automobile Club de France , which proclaimed itself arbiter of the record in about 1902. Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognize the same world records until 1924, when the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) introduced new regulations: two passes in opposite directions (to negate
500-481: The rear end, rather than the more usual shackles. The improved axle location encouraged good handling, which compensated when racing for the 750cc engine's low power output. Captain George Eyston and Ernest Eldridge saw this chassis under development and decided that it could form the basis for a speed record breaker. Fitted with larger brakes from a Mark II , a four speed gearbox and streamlined bodywork, it became
525-625: The three-wheeled Spirit of America set an FIM-validated LSR in 1963, all subsequent LSRs are by vehicles in FIA Category C ("Special Vehicles") in either class JE (jet engine) or class RT (rocket powered). FIA LSRs are officiated and validated by its regional or national affiliate organizations. Speed measurement is standardized over a course measuring either 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) or 1 mile (1.6 km), averaged over two runs with flying start (commonly called "passes") going in opposite directions within one hour. A new record mark must exceed
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#1733084749569550-688: Was built for Eyston, but initially driven by Eldridge. With this car, MG claimed a number of class records at Montlhéry in late 1931 and reached a speed of 120 mph on Pendine Sands in February 1932. This was built for Eyston in 1933, based on the supercharged K3 Magnette . It had two alternative bodyshells: one with the usual exposed wheels for racing, the other a full-width streamlined body for record-breaking. In 1935 Eyston sold it to Goldie Gardner , who then had Reid Railton re-design another bodyshell for it. Land speed record The land speed record ( LSR ) or absolute land speed record
575-439: Was initially considered unofficial. The vehicle breached the FIA regulations on two grounds: it had only three wheels, and it was not wheel-driven , since its jet engine did not supply power to its axles. Some time later, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) created a non-wheel-driven category, and ratified Spirit of America ' s time for this mark. On July 17, 1964, Donald Campbell 's Bluebird CN7 posted
600-552: Was initially located near the Paris Opera and benefited from a villa in the Bois de Boulogne . In 1898, the club moved to the exceptional site of the former "Place Louis XV" (currently Place de la Concorde ) in order to offer its members more comfort in a prestigious setting. The club still occupies more than 10,000 square meters in the Hotels du Plessis-Bellière and Moreau, both located between
625-405: Was not recognized due to its being a three-wheeler (leading the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to certify it as a three-wheel motorcycle record when the FIA refused) and not wheel-driven so the FIA introduced a special jet and rocket propelled class . No holder of the absolute record since has been wheel-driven. In the U.S. and Australia, record runs are often done on salt flats , so
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