On March 29th, 1927, Major Henry Segrave drove his SUNBEAM 1,000-HORSEPOWER LAND SPEED RECORD BREAKER on the old Daytona Beach course, hitting 203.792 mph!
Powered by a pair of 22.5-liter Matabele V12 aircraft engines, Segrave’s Sunbeam racecar – also known as the Slug (British slang after WWI for bullet) was the first car in the world to clock over 200 mph! It has been restored and will be shown and started up today for the first time, headlining the Special Curated Class at the 75th anniversary of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The legendary SUNBEAM 1,000-HORSEPOWER LAND SPEED RECORD BREAKER was restored by the workshop team of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu (in Hampshire, UK). The Museum aims to return the British engineering icon to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2027, marking 100 years since it broke the 200-mph Land Speed Record in 1927. Restoration has involved bringing two colossal 22.4-liter Matabele V12 aero engines that power the vehicle back to working order.
The car will be joined at Pebble Beach by two from the Museum workshop team: Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield and Aaron Burton, the workshop apprentice, who have both worked on the restoration. Aaron is attending the Heritage Skills Academy and has developed a knowledge of classic car restoration by working on the SUNBEAM 1,000-HORSEPOWER LAND SPEED RECORD BREAKER. Martin Braybrook, Sunbeam 1000-horsepower Project Patron, and Dr. Jon Murden, National Motor Museum Chief Executive, and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, will also represent the Museum at the prestigious event in California.
The Museum’s logistics partner in the USA, CARS (Classic Automotive Relocation Services), transported the car from Beaulieu to California – with an initial ship journey from Southampton to New York.
Following its appearance at Pebble Beach, the SUNBEAM 1,000-HORSEPOWER LAND SPEED RECORD BREAKER will make a pit stop at Jay Leno’s ‘Big Dog Garage’ and then go on display on loan for the rest of the year at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
Restoring Segrave’s Sunbeam has taken over three years – with many additional years of preparatory work. The Museum’s workshop team, led by Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield, had an incredibly difficult job, as there are no manuals or documentation for this unique vehicle.
National Motor Museum Chief Executive, Dr. Jon Murden, left, says, “I’m so proud of this achievement and the Museum workshop team who made it happen. I’m delighted that Ian Stanfield and his team’s expertise and perseverance have secured that the restoration has been completed on schedule. We are grateful to all the funders and supporters who helped our hopes for this legendary car become reality, and we are excited for the next chapter as the Sunbeam 1,000-horsepower goes back to the US for the first time in a century.”
The Slug will go back to Daytona Beach for a momentous low-speed centenary run on March 29th, 2027, to celebrate breaking the 200-mph World Land Speed Record there 100 years ago.
The focus of the Museum’s fundraising efforts will now shift to raising funds for the vintage record-breaker to be further displayed in the USA and subsequently back in Great Britain in 2027. The aim is to raise funds to enable the Museum to undertake further restoration projects, and deliver high-quality learning, educational and community initiatives.
PHOTOS: National Motor Museum Trust
For more information, including its itinerary in the USA, its history and its restoration, please visit https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/sunbeam1000hp
