Family aims to break the speed record

BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS — Terry Nish knows he's close. But he also knows that the additional speed he needs to break a standing 39-year-old record won't come easily.

Even though he watched this week as his "Royal Purple" streamliner became the fastest single engine, naturally aspirated — meaning carburetor-fed — vehicle in the world.

His son, Mike, hit a top speed in the 27-foot-long miniature rocket of 383 miles per hour. On Sunday, he hit back-to-back runs of 369 mph. Monday he set an unlimited record with a two-run average of 373 mph.

Terry Nish has wanted, for years now, to break the high-speed record set by Bob Summers in 1965 of 409.277 mph. No car, as yet, has been able to top the speed by the required 1 percent.

Al Teague of California actually went faster — 212 mph — but his engine was power-assisted by a blower.

The late Don Vesco, also from California, actually drove a wheeled vehicle at 458.44 mph on the salt, but that car was power-assisted by a turbine engine.

"Summers set a record in the unblown class, so the record is still there. The others were not running in the same class," Nish said.

"The record needs to be broken . . . 39 years is long enough."

The Summers car had four engines, one for each wheel. Nish will attempt to break the record with a single engine, a 673-cubic-inch Klein engine that will produce 2,200 horsepower . . . "And could go higher if needed," Nish said.

The record set by Mike Nish this week was done with a 558-cubic-inch engine.

Summers also had six and a half miles of track to pick up speed before he hit the measured mile. Terry Nish will have only five miles.

"A lot of things have changed since that record was set, all of which will make it more difficult," Nish said. "I remember, though, when we were 70 to 80 (miles per hour) away from the record. Now we're 36 and closing in. Those additional miles, though, are going to be hard to get. But, looking at what this (smaller) engine can do, I'm sure we can break the record with the larger engine."

With the record secured on Monday, the Nishes and crew spent the rest of the week fine-tuning and testing the car for its record run in October during the sanctioned FIA World Finals event.