SPECIAL EARTH DAY DOUBLE ISSUE - AutoWeek

Audi says there is a 50/50 chance that
it will be built. The V12 powerplant is
ready for production right now—it will
be slipped into Audi’s Q7 SUV. To make
the engine fit into the back of the R8,
engineers had to move the firewall
forward by six inches.
All that’s missing to make the project
a go is the new transmission, and with
that whopping torque, bigger tires and
brakes might be a swell idea, too.
Audi estimates that a production
version of this concept would get 25
mpg, while still making the run from 0
to 60 mph in less than four seconds and
having a top speed of 200 mph.
We’re ready. c
JIM FETS
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
BRITISH
PIONEER
DIESEL ENGINES HAVE
POWERED RACE CARS
SINCE THE 1930S
BY BROOKS BRIERLEY
THE RECENT PROMINENCE OF
diesel-powered racing sports cars
from Audi and Peugeot remind us
that the list of oil-burning achievements is a
long one. Diesel engines date back to the
19th century, but it took the Depression to
spark real automotive interest. The streamlined
car that British record setter George
Eyston used in the mid-1930s— the AEC (for
Associated Equipment Company) Fuel Oil
Safety Special— is the most stunning-looking
part of that history.
In the spring of 1933, British motorsport
craftsmen L.T. Delaney and Sons reworked a
135-inch-wheelbase Chrysler Imperial chassis
into the first British diesel-powered race
car. It was to be the fastest diesel in the world.
Without racing modifications, the 8.9-liter, sixcylinder
engine—with a 16:1 compression
ratio producing 130 hp—was the same
powerplant used in many London buses.
Other specifications included a seven-bearing
balanced crankshaft and Lockheed hydraulic
brakes with 16-inch drums on disc wheels.
Great fuel economy—about 22 mpg at
100 mph when an Alfa 158 might register
5 mpg—allowed for an undersized fuel tank.
In contrast, the heavy (1414-pound) motor
required extra-strong half-elliptic front springs.
English coachbuilder Vanden Plas constructed
the intriguing two-window sedan
body, with surfaces of weight-saving matteblack
fabric and an airplanelike four-piece
windshield. Inside were pleated-leather seats
and an artistic spray of bright-bezeled Jaeger
instruments. Clip-on body details made the
Special street-legal. It was equally adept at
serious competition or a head-turning amble
along Old Bond Street. The shallow parabolalike
rear fenders were an enigma; when in
place, they blocked opening the rear doors.
In October 1933, the Special made its
debut at Brooklands, setting diesel records
for both the measured mile and the
kilometer—first run counterclockwise, then
clockwise. The best run was a 106.65-mph
kilometer (clockwise), 3 mph faster than the
existing record. English weather limited the
day’s results—heavy rain made the concrete
track so wet that the car’s racing tires had to
be replaced with a nonskid set. A defective
windshield wiper made things worse.
However, the day proved the Special’s highspeed
stability.
Follow-up runs began in March 1934 at
Montlhery, France. The Special now had
tubular air intakes (resembling a machine-gun
nest) on top of the hood, a much longer
tapered tail and wire wheels on the front.
Eyston improved his world record, to 115.41
mph, for both the measured mile and the
kilometer.
The Special’s triumphs were fleeting.
Within the year, American drivers—first Dave
Evans, then Wild Bill Cummings—retook the
short-distance titles, raising the mile record
to 125.065 and 137.195 mph, respectively.
In February 1936, Eyston returned the
Special to Montlhery for long-distance runs,
setting a 24-hour diesel record of 94.99 mph
(about 35 mph slower than the 2007 Le
Mans winner).
Despite the Special’s being eclipsed on
the track, none of its successors or competitors
was able to surpass its stylish passengercar
approach to setting speed records. Some
say the Special’s chassis survived World
War II, but its current whereabouts are
unknown.
Today’s diesel speed record of 350.092
mph, by the “JCB Dieselmax” in August
2006, was set at the Bonneville Salt Flats in
Utah. The Dieselmax inherited the Special’s
flair for making the most of humble components:
Its diesel can be found powering backhoe
loaders. c
APRIL 21, 2008 AUTOWEEK 51