Developed by brothers Bill and Bob Summers, the
Goldenrod was powered by four wheel-driven fuel injected
Chrysler Hemi engines, mounted inline, which created
a total output of 2400bhp. The car was originally
built in Southern California and the team included
James Crosby.
Before finding their final success,
the brothers contacted a fuel specialist and racing
equipment pioneer and inventor, Tony Capanna, owner
of Wilcap Co. (at that time in Torrance California).
They were having trouble getting the speed they wanted
with the 4 engines set in 2 rows of 2 side by side. Tony suggested they put the engines in one long row
and have it streamlined. It was this iteration of
the vehicle that became known as the “Goldenrod”. Tony advised them to get advice from a Northrop engineer
who worked with aerodynamic design.
The brothers heeded
the advice and found success on November 12, 1965,
when the Goldenrod set the land speed record at 409.277
mph (658.64 km/h), in one mile for an FIA record
which was held for 27 years until it was broken in
1991 by Al Teague with his supercharged Hemi powered
Spirit of ’76 that went 409.986 mph (659.81 km/h).
The
Goldenrod was not supercharged like the Spirit of '76
so it actually still holds the record to this day in
its class.
The car went on tour for many years all across
the US, then first ventured outside the country in 2000,
when it was placed at where the cricket pitch is, in
the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with the other land speed
record cars.