Seagrave with the Sunbeam 1000hp at Daytona beach

History of the Sunbeam 1000hp

The National Motor Museum celebrates the incredible examples of pioneering motoring with the amazing vehicles used by the daring land speed record breakers.

In the top league of such motorcars is the 1,000hp Sunbeam of 1927 which was one of the first cars built for the sole purpose of breaking the record and was the first car to reach 200mph/321.87kph powered by two aircraft engines.

Although built in Wolverhampton the beast of a vehicle was taken to Florida, and with a crowd of 30,000 spectators looking on the Sunbeam 1000hp record breaking attempt took place on the morning of March 29 1927 on Daytona beach, the car driven by Henry Segrave. The speeds achieved on the two runs averaged 203.792mph/327.972kph – a new World Land Speed record!

The Sunbeam 1000hp – also christened ‘The Slug’ or ‘Mystery’ – has been on display at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu for some years but, unlike many of the other vehicles in the museum, it wasn't in working order. After many years we have nearly realized our dream to have it recommissioned and restored so that it can be enjoyed by future generations and remain a shining example of British engineering, British-American motoring heritage, and human endeavour.

Sunbeam’s two 22.5 litre engines, which each produced 435bhp, have not run for over half a century after corrosion attacked internal workings. With painstaking rebuilding, using specialist knowledge and bespoke parts, National Motor Museum engineers will recapture the sounds, sights and smells of this ground-breaking machine and help to preserve it for future generations.

Sunbeam 1000hp went on display at Beaulieu in 1958 on loan, before being bought by Edward, Lord Montagu in 1970. It now sits proudly at the heart of the National Motor Museum’s For Britain and For The Hell Of It display, alongside fellow Land Speed Record breakers Sunbeam 350hp, Golden Arrow and Bluebird CN7. National Motor Museum Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield and his team have stripped both engines of Sunbeam 1000hp, after discovering the true extent of corrosion damage. Funds are still needed to complete the full restoration project and display the iconic car.