USA! USA! Craig Breedlove’s 600mph Spirit of America Sonic I is for sale

It’s not often we’d consider something costing half a million dollars to be a bargain, but Craig Breedlove’s majestic Spirit of America Sonic I is coming up for auction at the end of the month, and its estimate reckons it’ll go for somewhere between $500,000 and $1m. That former figure is over $100k less than the entry price for a new Lamborghini Revuelto, and the Sonic I will do over 600mph for goodness' sake.

Not to sound too much like the auction house that’s selling this thing, but this is genuinely a remarkable opportunity to own a quite incredible (and genuinely massive – it’s over 34ft long) piece of American history. Heck, even we’re feeling patriotic and we’ve no connection to the US whatsoever. The Sonic I is being sold by RM Sotheby’s on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which recently pocketed almost $54m for its Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen as it rejigs its collection to focus on Indy cars.

Anyway, let’s get back to Breedlove. The man was a legend in the land speed record game. With the original, three-wheeled Spirit of America powered by a GE J47 turbojet engine from the F-86 Sabre fighter plane, he ushered in a new Jet Age for the fastest car on Earth title. Oh, and his 407.447mph run was immortalised in the song Spirit of America by The Beach Boys.

But it wasn’t enough for Breedlove, particularly after both Tom Green in Wingfoot Express and Art Arfons in Green Monster beat his record. Breedlove returned to Bonneville Salt Flats in October 1964 and upped his two-way average speed to 526.28mph, becoming the first man to break the 500mph barrier. You may well be aware that this run also ended with another world record for the longest skid marks after a parachute issue sent the car into a five-mile skid before it eventually came to rest in a lake. Just 12 days later, Art Arfons went out again in Green Monster and regained the record with a 536.71mph average.

A year later, Breedlove was back with the car you see here – Spirit of America Sonic I. Now a four-wheeled ‘car’ with a more powerful GE J79 turbojet, it was producing 15,000 pounds of thrust and featured forged aluminium wheels, disc brakes and an onboard air supply for Breedlove. On 2 November 1965, Sonic I set a new record of 555.48mph at Bonneville, although that was beaten by Arfons five days later. Here is where the facepalm emoji would come in handy.

Breedlove responded a week later with a 600.601mph two-way average, setting a record that would stand for five years and recording the fastest run of his glittering career. And now you could own the car in which he did it.

Perfect for popping down to the shops, no?