Triumph's History With The Land Speed Record - A Timeline

Here is a quick timeline of Triumph's association with the need to be 'The Fastest in the World!'

By Cyrus Dhabhar

1 mins read

Published on September 22, 2016

Highlights

First ever unofficial land speed record was set by Glenn Curtiss
Three builders from Texas built the Devil's Arrow Streamliner in 1954
This year Guy Martin personally aims for 400m/h which is a 644km/h

Triumph has had a long and glorious history of setting Land Speed Records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Of course, the bike inspired from the Bonneville name has gone on to become a legend in itself and represent the brand in the past and continues to do so today as well. Here is a quick timeline of Triumph's association with the need to be 'The Fastest in the World!' 1903 - First ever unofficial land speed record set at 64m/h (103 km/h) by a motorcycle by Glenn Curtiss in an aircraft engine propelled Motorcycle. The Curtiss 1954 - Triumph's association with land speed records begin. Three builders from Texas - Jack Wilson, Pete Dalio and Stormy Mangham begin building the Devil's Arrow Streamliner in a bid to outdo the German NSU team. Their main aim was to ensure the German's did not have the world record. The Devil's Arrow 1955 - The trio continues building the bike from whatever they can find. This includes parts from a tractor and cultivator. The final design features a 650cc Thunderbird engine. 1956 - Flat-track rider Johnny Allen takes the Devil's Arrow on special tyres and methanol to a speed record of 193.7m/h (311.7km/h). FIM refuses to ratify an AMA-sanctioned record. 1956 - Not to be outdone, the NSU team comes to Bonneville with a 500cc supercharged streamliner and sets a record of 211.4m/h (340.2km/h). This bike was ridden by Wilhelm Herz The Texas Cee-Gar 1956 - The Texas team returns to the salts to regain the title, this time officially. Their newly rebuilt and rechristened Texas Cee-Gar with a more potent Thunderbird engine sets an official record of 214.5m/h (345.3km/h). This record would stand till 1962. 1962 - Aircraft mechanic Joe Dudek brings a streamlined T120 powered bike to Bonneville. After setting a gasoline powered record of 205m/h (330km/h), they drain the engine, re-calibrate the jetting on the carbs and use nitro methane to set a new outright world speed record of 224.57m/h (361.41km/h). The Gyronaut X-1 1965 - Automotive designer Alex Tremulis and Triumph Dealer Bob Leppan being an advanced streamliner called the Gyronaut X-1 to Bonneville with two 641cc Triumph TR6 engines with a total of 140bhp. The bike features special tyres, a parachute and a custom three-piece fibreglass body. The bike, built as a whopping $100,000 breaks the gasoline powered record at 217.624m/h (350.23km/h) before crashing. 1966 - With a full rebuild and some modifications, the Gyronaut returns to the salt flats setting an outright record of 245.667m/h (395.362km/h) becoming the world's fastest motorcycle. This would end Triumph's tryst with the land speed records and the Bonneville salt flats until their return in 2016. Triumph Rocket Streamliner 2016 2016 - Triumph returns to the Bonneville salt flats with one aim in mind. To beat the Ack-Attack team whose record has stood for nearly a decade. The record at 376.363m/h is one of the longest standing motorcycle land speed records in history and has been set using a twin Suzuki Hayabusa engined chassis based streamliner. Team Triumph plans to break the record with anything higher than 377m/h but Guy Martin personally aims for 400m/h which is a blistering 644k/h!