Photo: Daimler AG
Back in January 1904, the American Ormond-Daytona race week was dominated by a young millionaire named William K. Vanderbilt jr. at the wheel of a Mercedes 90 hp racing car.
Established a year before, the Florida Speed Carnival was an event which featured races and record drives on a flat sandy beach, with Vanderbilt winning no less than six races and setting seven speed records exactly 110 years ago.
Son of the railway baron William K. Vanderbilt, the 25-year old millionaire was driving a car supplied by the German Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), with which he managed to completely destroy the absolute world record for land vehicles.
The 39 seconds for the flying mile meant that he had achieved a top speed of 148.54 km/h (92.3 mph), but sadly the American record would fail to meet the approval of the European racing establishment at the time.
Despite the newly-established Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) not officially recognizing the record, the feat is beyond dispute as many US newspapers of the time covered it.
Son of the railway baron William K. Vanderbilt, the 25-year old millionaire was driving a car supplied by the German Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), with which he managed to completely destroy the absolute world record for land vehicles.
The 39 seconds for the flying mile meant that he had achieved a top speed of 148.54 km/h (92.3 mph), but sadly the American record would fail to meet the approval of the European racing establishment at the time.
Despite the newly-established Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) not officially recognizing the record, the feat is beyond dispute as many US newspapers of the time covered it.
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