|
 Fifty
years ago this month, Britain’s greatest ever speed king,
Stirling Moss, catapulted himself to international fame by shattering
the class F world land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats
in Utah in a revolutionary, streamlined, MG car, named EX181.
(Class F is for cars of engine size 1100cc to 1500cc).
Already an established track driver,
the 28 year old Moss was chosen by MG’s racing chiefs as
the person best suited to try and beat the existing class F record
of 203 mph set by the legendary Goldie Gardner shortly before
the outbreak of WW2.
 MG
had already moved towards production streamlined cars with the
launch of the MGA in 1955 and saw the potential marketing benefits
of being able to tell car buyers that they had the capabilities
to produce the fastest car of its size in the world.
The mid-engined EX181, tadpole-like
in appearance and commonly referred to as the "Roaring Raindrop",
had been designed by the company’s illustrious chief designer,
Syd Enever, and had a twin cam 1500cc engine, which had been supercharged
to give 290 bhp at 7,300 rpm.
 The
record itself was achieved on the 23rd of August and apart from
poor weather delaying the start, the day surpassed even the MG
team’s most optimistic expectations with Moss blitzing past
the previous record with a two-way average time over the course
of 245.64 mph. This was more than 20% quicker than Gardner’s
time and made the Roaring Raindrop the fastest MG ever.
The success of the record run not only
attracted huge international publicity for MG, but also cemented
the company’s position as being one of the world’s leading
sports car manufacturers which saw them achieve unparalleled sales
for the best part of the following 25 years.
 Now,
long retired, EX181 is one of the prized exhibits at the Motor
Heritage Centre museum in the English Midlands and still attracts
considerable interest.
As for Stirling Moss, his achievement
at Bonneville and subsequent exploits on racetracks around the
world, helped to make him one of the most successful racing drivers
of his generation, and to this day, he remains one of Britain’s
most iconic sportsmen.
Story provided courtesy of www.auto-history.tv
MG EX181 as it looks today:
 
 
|
