The National Motor Museum tells us…
The World Land Speed Record breaker Sunbeam 1000hp made its post-restoration debut at Pebble Beach Concours d‘Elegance in California. The car was on display and started up at the prestigious automotive gathering. Widely regarded as the premiere concours in the world, the event is in its 75th anniversary year.
The legendary vehicle was restored by the workshop team of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, England. The Museum aims to return the British engineering icon to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2027, marking 100 years since it broke the 200mph Land Speed Record in 1927. Restoration has involved bringing two colossal 22.4 litre Matabele V12 aero engines that power the vehicle back to working order.
The car was joined at Pebble Beach by two from the Museum workshop team;Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield and Aaron Burton, the workshop apprentice who have both worked on the restoration. Aaron is attending the Heritage Skills Academy and has developed a knowledge of classic car restoration by working on the Sunbeam 1000hp. Martin Braybrook, Sunbeam 1000hp Project Patron, and Jon Murden, National Motor Museum Trust Chief Executive and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu also represented the Museum at the prestigious event in California.
The car was displayed as the headline entry in the Pebble Beach Special Curated Class at the event, and was greeted enthusiastically by the crowd on the Pebble Beach lawn as the engines roared to life.
“It was an honour for the National Motor Museum to see the 1000hp Sunbeam make is debut at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – the world’s most prestigious car show,” said National Motor Museum Chief Executive, Jon Murden. “Over 15,000 people came to see 200 of the most beautiful cars and it was a real thrill to see the Sunbeam amongst such exclusive company. The highlight was undoubtedly the start-up of both engines of the Sunbeam at 1pm on the Sunday. A large crowd gathered to witness the first running of these engines in public for over 95 years, and this is an event which has undoubtedly put the National Motor Museum back on the global stage.”
The Museum’s logistics partner in the USA, CARS (Classic Automotive Relocation Services) transported the car from Beaulieu to California – with an initial ship journey from Southampton to New York.
Following its appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance the car has made a pit stop at Jay Leno’s ‘Big Dog Garage’ located in Burbank, California where it was filmed for a future episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. From there, the Sunbeam will remain in California and has gone on display on loan for the rest of the year at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
The restoration project has taken over three years – with many additional years of preparatory work, with the expertise of the Museum workshop team being tested with such a mammoth motoring heritage project, as there were no manuals or documentation to help.
The workshop team led by Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield found more problems than expected while dismantling the front engine – one of two of the Sunbeam’s colossal 22.5 litre Matabele V12 aero engines – and extensive work has been carried out, both on and off-site, to repair the original parts. Collaboration partners and supporters have worked extensively with the Museum to get the project over the line.
The vehicle will go back to Daytona Beach for a momentous low-speed centenary run on 29 March 2027, to celebrate Sir Henry Segrave breaking the 200mph World Land Speed Record there 100 years ago.
The focus of the National Motor Museum Trust’s fundraising efforts has now shifted to raising funds for the Sunbeam 1000hp to be further displayed in the USA and subsequently back in Great Britain in 2027. The aim is to raise funds to enable the Museum Trust to undertake further restoration projects, and deliver high-quality learning, educational and community initiatives.
More information on the Sunbeam 1000hp’s itinerary in the USA, its history and its restoration is available at https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/sunbeam1000hp
National Motor Museum
The National Motor Museum Trust Limited is a charitable organisation founded in 1972, which runs the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the New Forest. Continuing the work of the flagship Montagu Motor Museum, the Trust has a world-famous collection of vehicles and associated motoring items on display at the National Motor Museum. An Accredited Museum, all its collections have been designated by Arts Council England as being of national and international importance. Its internationally acclaimed collection of more than 1.9 million items is cared for by the National Motor Museum Trust and includes historically significant motoring artefacts, film footage, images, documents and books. For more information about its collection and services, see www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk.