Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-09
WORLD AWAITS ATTEMPT TO SET
NEW SPEED RECORD FOR AUTOS
Briton, With 24-Cylinder Sunbeam Silver
Bullet, Is Leading Claimant
for Segrave Honors.

but it is a fact that most of the speed
sters in the trials come from England.
This year the featured entry is an Eng
lishman, Kaye Don, who Is already on
his way to Daytona with Sunbeam
Coatelen car, engineered by the famous
French automotive engineer and de-
signer. He was in Washington last
week. The opinion among Americans
seems to be that the American automo-
bile business is too busy making cars
for sale to devote its attention to super
speed.
j. M. White of Philadelphia Is not
maker of commercial automobiles In the
usual sense He has gone into the
high-speed field. however, to consider
Triplex which Bible drove to his death
last year. Daytona Beach authorities
understand that White is to enter a
46-cylinder machine in 1881, possibly
TO set q new all-time record, even
though some hold the view that the
maximum of speed on land has nearly
been reached.
The main factor governing speed, ac-
cording to the tests last year. Is the
selves out quickly under the intense
heat generated by the speed at which
| the monster machines are run. Sc
| graves tires of last year were glaran-
teed by the manufacturers TO last only
IS seconds at 240 miles per hour.
! Don has with him the DON
| Coatelen designed British-built car with
which he hopes to beat Segrave'S rec
ord. Interest Of the engineer in Don's
be intensified by the fact that Coatelen
also designed the Mystery S, In which
Segrave first set a world speed record
Of more than 200 miles an hour back
in 1927.
Frenchman Designed Car.
Coatelen is q Frenchman, 81 years
Of age, who has lived In England half
his life and has been identified with
the Sunbeam Co. for many years.
Before the war he was interested in
aviation, and when the war broke out
the Sunbeam oatelen engines were
said to be the only ones of British
to fly British seaplanes. These engines
were in the aircraft which gave the
Navy high command the news Of the
disposition of the German feet at Jut-
land and also played a part in Gen.
Townshend's campaign in MeSopotamta.
The engines used in Don'S challenger
are products of Coatelen, and were de-
signed, it is said, for work on the
largest airplanes, which accounts for
their great power. The Golden Arrow,
present recordholder was designed by
Capt. Jack Irving, in conjunction with
Mai Segrave, who drove the car to
its remarkable record of more than 23l
miles an hour on March IL, 1929,
breaking the record set the previous
year by Capt. Malcolm Campbell.
Will this marvel of all speedways see
a new world record. or will the mark
set by Segrave stand up this year?
These are the questions race enthusi-
asts are trying to thrash out as Day.
tona Beach points a reckoning finger
to the hosts who would watch the
roaring monsters of steel.
Speed Makes for Better Cars.
What are the practical results Of this
contest for speed supremacy? This
question frequently is asked by the
layman, who does not know what speed
has done to make his family car a
better automobile. Advances in carbu-
retion, in tire design, in body design
and countless other improvements in
automobile design have come from the
tests at Daytona and other speed tests
on the speedways Of the Nation. For
It is reasonable to assume that II a
certain improvement stands up under
the greatly enhanced strains of great
speed it will do well at ordinary road
speeds.