Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume III

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RACING MOTOR CAR. 333 an hour, become formidable bumps when taken at high speed; and it is quite com- mon to watch some driver who is going fast high up on the high banking, jolting far out of his seat as the springs work to their full extent. The most remarkable performance made upon the track is the record lap covered at the rate of 12L64 miles an hour by Nazzaro on Whit Monday, 1908, during the F.I.A.T.- Napier match. In this race the famous Italian drove a specially-built machine, with an enormous engine of some 180 horse-power, and in all probability the utmost speed of the car has yet to be re- corded. Track racing has always been very popular in the States, where the old trotting tracks are pressed into service —a most unsafe proceeding, as the surfaces are made of dirt, and the turns in many cases not banked at all. There have been many fatali- ties in consequence at Ameri- can track-racing meetings, and THE MERCEDES WHICH WON THE GRAND PRIX OF 1908. This machine represents the highest pitch of perfection in racing-car design yet attained. It ran without mud-guards in the race. the newly-opened India- napolis course, which was designed for high-speed cars, has already a long list of casualties to its name. Such things, how- ever, are of little account in the States, and the fascination of the track still holds good. A word should be said about the specially-built A RACING CAR DE LUXE. One of the Napiers built under the regulations of the Grand Prix of 1908. These cars had a rømarkable system of rear-springing, which can be distinguished in the photo. A BROOKLANDS MERCEDES.