Beaulieu National Motor Museum engineers reach rebuild milestone with speed record car Sunbeam 1000hp

THE restoration of the world’s first car to break the 200mph barrier is set to hit a landmark stage at Beaulieu’s National Motor Museum.

Known as ‘The Slug’ because of its body shape, the Sunbeam 1000hp world record-breaker currently on show at the museum was designed and built more than a century ago.

Museum engineers have now almost completed the rear engine rebuild after years of work to strip, clean and restore it.

The Sunbeam 1000hp Restoration Campaign, launched with Hampshire-based Brookspeed Automotive, aims to raise £300,000 to complete the rebuild to return to Daytona in 2027 for the record centenary.

It was on 29th March 1927 that Major Henry Segrave took the British Sunbeam to the 203.79mph world land record at Daytona Beach, Florida.

Now, working without any manual or documentation, the Beaulieu engineers have taken apart and restored each part of the colossal 22.5-litre Matabele V12 aero engine to make it work again.

The crankshaft, con-rods, pistons and cylinder blocks have all been cleaned, restored and reassembled. The only non-original parts are replacements for the piston rings which were glued tight with solidified mineral oil. All four camshafts have also been put back.

Museum senior engineer Ian Stanfield said: “It’s one of the exciting parts of the project to put the engine back together. We wanted to make sure that everything was turning and free before bolting it up for the last time.”

He added: “They were clever people who designed and built Sunbeam 1000hp back in 1918. When you look at the materials they used, the machining was phenomenal and the design was incredible.”

They plan to fire-up this rear engine out of the car before it is lowered back. Then they will restore the 435bhp front engine which has not run for more than 80 years.