Since they flooded into the world just over 100 years ago, the car has become an obsession for mankind. They have been driven around the earth, raced, destroyed, scrapped, and sent into space.
One thing they haven’t stopped doing either is asking questions. In the beginning, people asked how fast and how far they could go.
As the century moved on, questions turned to how safe and economical they could be before the effects of climate change meant the world started asking how green they can become.
While these questions have been come and gone, some have permanently stayed on the lists of motorists and non-motorists alike, what is your favourite and which is the most beautiful?
While there may be heated discussions and no clear answer, many can agree that the Napier-Railton is an iconic car.
Very few people will have heard of Napier and even fewer will have heard of Railton, but in 1933, the two companies came together for one shining moment.
And that moment was very shiny, and very, very, fast.
Although she is over 10ft long, five ft wide, and weighs 2.2 tonnes, the Napier-Railton is a masterpiece of British design and engineering.
Sitting underneath over the top of a Napier Lion aero-engine is sleek silver bodywork which is bedecked with a Union Jack on the rear three-quarter panel.
Completed in 1933, she was commissioned by legendary racing driver John Cobb to break endurance records at Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built race track.
The Napier-Railton’s engine was incredibly powerful for the time, sending 535bhp, and 1,300ft/lbs of torque at 2550rpm to the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox.
At top speed, the Napier-Railton was capable of over 170mph, not far behind the fastest aircraft of the era.
With Mr Cobb at the wheel, the Napier broke through record after record both in the UK and Europe.
After a thunderous period of success in the 1930s, her racing days were brought to an end in 1937.
After World War 2 and with nowhere to run, she was used by the RAF to test parachutes for aircraft.
From there she passed through several private owners before Brooklands, with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, brought her home.
Today, the Napier is Brooklands’ star automotive attraction, her thunderous aero-engine and aerodynamic shape drawing in the crowds as the sun bounces off the bodywork.
What’s more, the Napier has one final trick up her sleeve.
Although technically a racing car, she can legally be driven on the public road complete with a tax disk and a number plate.
In a world going electric, the Napier is a chrome window into Britain’s racing past.
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