LAND SPEED RECORD
cobb ready for attempt Within the next few days John Cobb, • 47-ytar-old English racing driver, is expected to make an attempt at surpassing his own world's land speed record of 369.7 m.p.h. when he opens the throttle of his three-ton "Railton-Mobil-Special" car. on the salt flats of Bonneville, Utah. Cobb is holder of all the world's land speed records from one kilometer to 10 miles.
This attempt on the record, which will be a feature of the Utah iState Centenriial celebrations, will be the first held on the course since the war. Reid Railton, designer of the Railton Mobil Special, P. T. Taylof, who was in charge of the car's construction; and engineers of the Vacilum Oil Company will be present during the speed trials. The Railton Mobil Special was built at a cost of 100,000 dollars. The specially-designed streamlined body is made of aluminium ailoy with the entire unit, including the tyres, housed inside the shell. The two 12~cylinder, super-' charged Napier engines are hung oh each side of the single frame girder in the centre. The front ehgine drives the rear wheels and the rear engine powers the i'ronr. wheels to obtain maximum adhesion to the ground. Each engine has a separate transmission set of gears, and operates independently of the other. There are three forward speeds but no reverse. The cooling unit consists of a 75-galijn tank in which ice is placed before each run and a 15-gallon lubri;ating oil tank of regular Mobiloil to help dissipate heat. Cobb's seat is in front of the axle to give him maximum visibility. When he has seated himself behind the wheel the 400-pound body is placed on the car, sealing him in. A truck pushes the car to start it. The shift from first to second gear is made at 140 miles per hour, and from second to high at 240 miles. Both Vacuum engineers and those reSponsible for design and construction of this super care are confident, along with Cobb, of lifting the world's speed re'rord to a substantially higher figure.
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Bibliographic details
Chronicle (Levin), 26 August 1947, Page 4
Word Count
346LAND SPEED RECORD Chronicle (Levin), 26 August 1947, Page 4
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