Stapp Record Car on Film

Story by Dale LaFollette

Stop the Press! Oh, we can’t but this bit of YouTube just surfaced in reference to the below article and it simply must be seen. We’ve added this video to Dale LaFollette’s March 2019 piece on the Stapp record car.

https://youtu.be/8N9vTqY0ZRc

I have spent the last twenty-five years collecting, buying and selling period racing photography that interested me. I have known of the car illustrated here and had spent several years looking for a good vintage print when this one became available. My reason for the search was based on the wonderful story surrounding the builder of this car and the car itself.

In 1932 René Stapp, who has been described both as a racing driver and automotive engineer, announced to the world that he had spent the previous two years building a land speed record car in his workshop on the outskirts of Paris. He said the car would be powered by three Jupiter radial engines which he would convert to internal combustion turbines by removing the pistons from them. The engines would make 800 horsepower each and would transmit their power to all four wheels by an electric transmission. He estimated that the car could attain maximum speed of 372 mph (600 kph) and it would do so on the sands of Daytona Beach which was his goal.

If you have digested the above you have already formed an opinion of who René Stapp really was and it may not be all that complimentary. But wait a moment; just consider the car in the photograph. This vehicle was not the product of an idle afternoon as it is easy to see that some serious thought, even if misguided, went into it.

The car was constructed on an older Voisin chassis. The Voisin engine was left in place to be used as a starter motor for the radial engines! And, the Voisin engine powered the car to Paris and on demonstration runs in Paris, so it was probably the only power the car had throughout its career, as there has never been evidence that the radial engines were ever actually installed.

The car as pictured here is on its the way down St Germain Road to Paris, and since it was being driven on the road (by Mr. Stapp) that might be the excuse for the rearview mirror and the spare tire. But it is the first land speed record car I have ever seen with these accessories. Nor have I ever heard any explanation for the stars, letters and numbers on the vehicle.

But I have figured out one other unusual feature.

Notice the strap hanging down from the rear of the cockpit. There is a buckle at the front edge of the cockpit so when the strap was buckled in place it reduced the cockpit opening to help keep the driver aboard. This was made necessary by the fact that the driver was to stand in the cockpit much like a railroad engineer while driving. At the time of this photograph the absolute land speed record was held by Malcolm Campbell in his Bluebird at 246.09 mph. I really doubt that standing was an option while attempting to break that record.

Sometime after arriving in Paris and conducting demonstration runs, Mr. Stapp drove his car to the beach at La Baule in Brittany for a practice run. But then if the radial engines had never been installed what was there to practice? Was it some sort of ruse? In any case while on the sand at La Baule the car caught on fire and burned to the ground while René jumped clear, unhurt, we assume the car a total loss.

From there Mr. Stapp shuffled off to obscurity, his land speed record hopes gone. I think you can see that he had no real chance from the outset to gain the record, so was it all a con or was he completely naive to the reality? Or maybe his goal was just to have his name remembered in the history books and magazine articles for the next 87 years. If so, well played Mr. Stapp!

Sources:

LAND SPEED RECORD by Cyril Posthumus

MOTOR RACING AND RECORD BREAKING by G.E.T. Eyston (photo and photo description only)

Also thanks to David Tremayne, who did an update to the Posthumus book and is a world authority on LS