on 12/17/02 12:02 PM, S & M Barnes at barnes@mghorizon.com wrote:
> I saw an old American woody station wagon in Spain in the late 80s that had
> a Merlin up front, apart from having had the front wings and bonnet
> stretched by 2 feet it looked standard. The owner said wheelspin was a
> problem on start-up but the car would cruise at 200mph and get 12 mpg at
> that speed!
The concept of cruising at 200mph in a late 40s US station wagon is pretty
terrifying. I suspect this fellow was, er, embellishing the truth a bit,
shall we say.
Although, I suppose one could argue that the Napier-Railton wasn't all that
different, technologically -- a truck-like 3400 lb. chassis powered by a
24-liter W12. The Napier Lion "only" put out 500 hp, but it managed 168 mph
over 100 miles, as one of its many records.
The later Railton Mobil Special featured dual 26.9-liter supercharged Lions,
for a total of 2500 hp. It managed 400 mph at Bonneville, but it also
featured an extremely low-profile streamlined body.
For sheer aircraft-engine-overkill insanity, I like George Eyston's rival
Thunderbolt -- 8 wheels, two 36.5-liter, 2350 hp Rolls Royce engines. I
don't know if those were Merlins or the immediate predecessor.
Then there was, I believe, a American post-war record car with four Allison
engines...
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
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