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Originally Posted by Eighty-Nine Si
Indeed! Wunibald Kamm did most of his road testing on the Autobahn as did the good folks from the Porsche outfit. I have to tip my hat to Bernd Rosemeyer though,
Bernd Rosemeyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
who crashed fatally at 270mph...there is a memorial to him alongside the Autobahn. Contrary to most people's perception, the Autobahn is not even as wide as the average interstate, only two lanes per side. I have only driven it in "affordable" rental cars of small displacement. 270mph boggles my mind. The "Silver Arrows" were beautiful and decades ahead of their time. |
Alex Tremulis(Tucker Torpedo,Styling Chief-Ford Motor,Subaru 100-mpg X-100),did a piece on the crash many years ago.The aluminum sheetmetal used to form the car's body was a thinner wall section than was specified by Jaray.It is believed that the sheetmetal actually deformed under aerodynamic loading,causing asymetrical yawing moments that Rosemeyer could not overcome,leading to the fatal crash.------------ When I was at Bonneville,oil got onto the headers of Ed Tradeup's"Danny Boy" streamliner when he was in 300-mph territory.Ed couldn't see because of smoke in the cockpit,he veered right,hit a timing light which took out some of the right side of the car's body.The asymetric pressure caused yawing,then when the car got completely sideways,it lifted off.Ed couldn't see what was happening and couldn't get the parachutes out fast enough to keep the car straight and on the ground.Ed walked away okay,car was pretty trashed.Those speeds are serious.