The Ford Mustang GTD Spirit of America revealed at the Detroit Auto Show is a 202 mph tribute to the land speed record cars driven by Craig Breedlove, but now you can buy the real deal.
The Spirit of America Sonic 1 that Breedlove broke the 600 mph barrier with in 1965 is being auctioned to the public for the first time at the RM Sotheby’s even in Miami on the weekend of Feb. 27-28.
Breedlove died in 2023 at 86 and the car has been a part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s collection since 1975.
Breedlove became the first person to break the 500 mph barrier in 1964 with his original turbofan-powered Spirit of America three-wheel car and followed it up with the more powerful Spirit of America Sonic 1 in 1965.
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Having lost his 526.277 mph record to Art Arfon’s Green Monster’s 536.710 mph run a few days later, Breedlove wasn’t messing around when he returned to the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1965.
The four-wheel, 34-foot-long vehicle is built around the GE J79 engine from an F-4 Phantom II fighter jet that produces 15,000 pounds of thrust. Special Goodyear tires, brakes and a parachute were fitted along with an air-supply system.
The single-seat cockpit is simply appointed with a five-point seatbelt, yoke-style steering wheel, throttle lever and five gauges on the dashboard including a 700 mph speedometer.
Breedlove clocked a 555.485 mph two-run average on Nov. 2, which was beaten five days later by Arfons at 576.553 mph, but Breedlove returned on November 15 and recorded a 600.601 mph average that included a 608 mph pass in one direction. Breedlove’s wife Lee also used the car to set a women’s land speed record fo 308.506 mph while they were there.
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Craig Breedlove’s mark stood for five years until Gary Gabelich beat it in the famous Blue Flame in 1970 with a 622.407 mph two-way run. Breedlove would return to Bonneville in 1996 with a third Spirit of America, but a crash at 675 mph ended his attempt to beat the 634.051 mph record that was set in 1983 by Richard Noble in the Thrust2.
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While the Spirit of America Sonic 1 never lived up to the Sonic part of its name, Andy Green would go on to drive the ThrustSSC past the sound barrier in 1997 at 714.144 mph to mark the first time a wheeled vehicle reached supersonic speed.
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Given its unique nature and historic stature, it’s almost impossible to put an accurate valuation on the Spirit of America Sonic 1, but RM Sotheby’s estimates that it will sell in the $500,000 to $1 million range.