Land Speed Record Car 'Unwanted'
650mph 'Green Monster' fails to sell on eBay
One careful owner...
The original Green Monster was built by Art Arfons (1926-2007) in the early 1960s, using a 17,500 horsepower General Electric J-79 jet engine recovered from a scrapped B-58 Hustler bomber. Arfons crashed the car in 1966 causing considerable damage, but recycled many of the first car's parts in creating a new 'Green Monster'. Arfons chose not to compete in this after the heavy crash, and instead sold it to the wonderfully named 'Slick Gardner', a wealthy Californian who would, come 1978, drive the jet car to 650mph at the Bonneville salt flats, though this was not an official land speed record attempt.
The name 'Green Monster' apparently refers to the name laughingly given to the first of Arfons and his brother's high-speed projects by a track announcer. It was a three-wheeled dragster that was painted with green left-over tractor paint, but though the name persisted through subsequent iterations, the dominant green colour did not.
The auction has now ended with the reserve not met, with the highest bid at a paltry 53,600 USD.
Whilst the name of Richard Noble's latest LSR car is not quite as aptly-brutish as the 'Green Monster' (we know which would win in a fight), the 12.8m-long Bloodhound has gloriously comic-book styling, while the method of propulsion has come from a similarly child-like school of thinking. It appears to have gone something like this: "You know that Eurofighter Typhoon engine? That's pretty powerful, right? Okay, lets strap a rocket to it!".
The run is planned for 2011, but that date was set before the economy ate itself and the project relies on corporate sponsorship, so we'll have to keep our finger's crossed to see that run as soon as possible.
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Unless I have missed it, what is the background story? Why is it up for auction/sale? Is it some museum closing down or the family dont want it?
And anyone have a link to the ended auction?
It might be no more than a museum piece now but its a unique part of land speed record history. If old Bugattis can go for millions of pounds, surely this thing, a 1 off, is worth at least a few hundred thousand of some weathly guys hard earned.
I know I'd buy it if I was in the wealthy bracket!
I hope this finds a good home too. Maybe worth a call to Jay Leno perhaps????
It's brought back loads of memories now, it was the most amazing car I'd ever seen when I was 5 - I didn't even believe it actually existed. Wow. Just wow. If only I had a garage 40 feet long and my own personal salt flat...
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