When I visited the Beulieu National Motor Museum in the UK, I saw the actual cars that set the speed records: the Sunbeam 1000hp and the Golden Arrow. They are the record-holding cars that achieved speeds of 327 km/h in 1927 and 372 km/h in 1929, respectively.
I’ve always been drawn to these unique styles of engine-driven and wheel-driven speed record cars, and I’ve long wanted to add one to my mini-car collection! While I was able to get my hands on a Sunbeam right away, I feel like Golden Arrows used to be all over eBay, but now they’re almost impossible to find—and when a good one does come up, the price is sky-high. Recently, I happened to come across an old WesternModel die-cast car with some flaws that cost less than 60 GBP, so I went ahead and bought it.
As you can see, the Sunbeam 1000hp is a Bizarre model and is quite well made. It’s in good condition. The Golden Arrow, on the other hand, has a completely different shade of gold. A full repaint would be a major undertaking, so I’m a bit torn. It has quite a few minor scratches and is in condition befitting its price.
This is the Sunbeam 1000hp. The text on the side is too much on die-cast models, but perhaps there was a period when cars were painted like this? It features two 22.4L V12 engines—originally designed for motorboats and capable of producing 450hp—positioned one in front of and one behind the driver, connected by a shaft with a clutch. It’s rear-wheel drive only. They claim it was the first car in history to break the 200 mph barrier! But by today’s standards, that’s a speed even a high-performance sports car could likely reach on the Autobahn. The beautifully rounded, streamlined body really gives it that classic speed record car vibe. The actual car is pretty beat up, but the die-cast model features beautifully smooth, flowing lines—which is probably just as good.
The Golden Arrow, on the other hand, is equipped with a 26.9-liter Napier Lion 12-cylinder aircraft engine mounted at the front. Although some sources refer to this engine as a V12, it actually features an interesting layout where four cylinders are arranged in three rows—more akin to a “W” than a “V”—which gives the upper body a unique, peculiar shape with three protrusions. Perhaps because it was designed to achieve the otherworldly speed of nearly 400 km/h, its shape is quite different from that of a conventional car, which makes it fascinating. Although it has the same 900 hp output, the car achieved a top speed of 232 mph thanks to efforts to reduce its frontal area and install thin radiators—which usually generate significant drag in conventional layout—between the left and right tires.
As for the die-cast model, unfortunately, the quality leaves something to be desired. For starters, the angles of the distinctive three protrusions on the upper body don’t quite match the original design—the ones on the left and right are a bit too upright. The paint job also uses a metallic gold that’s overly flashy, with what looks like metallic flakes, likely in an effort to emphasize the gold; it’s completely different from the original’s earthy, golden hue. I don’t think the tire treads were necessary for a speed record car that wasn’t meant to be driven in the rain, so I wonder if there was ever a period when it actually had tires like this.
As I mentioned in a previous article, Donald Campbell’s Bluebird CN7—which broke the 400 mph barrier—is also on display at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum, and, unsurprisingly, these two cars don’t quite measure up when placed side by side. Oops—I accidentally positioned the model car so that the Bluebird was facing this way. In reality, the front of the real car was at the back.
There are plenty of photos of the actual product here, so please take a look if you’re interested.
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