One of the fastest automobiles in the world is here shown with its inventor, Walter Christy, at the wheel. The machine has been driven around a circular track at the rate of one mile in 57 seconds, although it is claimed that it has never yet been driven at its fastest speed because it becomes uncontrollable, endangering the lives of everyone near.
This Machine Covered a Mile in 57 Seconds.
The machine is known as the “Freak Automobile,” because all its mechanism is built over the two front wheels, where the driving power is also applied. Each of the five cylinders, two of which are to be seen conspicuously over the front right wheel, is capable of developing 60 hp. The front right wheel is double tired and strengthened to withstand the enormous strain when traveling around a curve at a high rate of speed.
The power of the gas engine is so great that it is impossible to run the machine on a city street, and when the mechanism starts working the machine fairly jumps through the air. The inventor is wealthy and follows the sport purely for the joy of rushing along at a speed faster than the flight of a homing pigeon.
