Spirit of America Sonic I became the holder of the land speed record and the women’s land speed record in the 1960s, driven by husband-and-wife duo Craig and Lee Breedlove (Image: Darin Schnabel for RM Sotheby’s)
In the mid-1960s, Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons went tit-for-tat for the world land speed record, and now you could have a chance to own one of the legendary cars from this top speed battle.
It was Breedlove who laid down the gauntlet in the vehicle you see here, Spirit of America Sonic I, when in November 1965 it became the first vehicle to cross the 600mph barrier on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Setting an official speed of 600.601mph (966.574km/h) – which stood as the record until 1970 when it was finally beaten by the iconic Blue Flame –Breedlove’s Sonic I has sat in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum until now, with it set to be auctioned off by RM Sotheby’s at the Miami 2025 auction on February 27.
The first time this legendary vehicle has been available to private acquisition, it boasts more history than just the 600mph run, with Breedlove’s wife Lee setting the women’s land speed record in it around the same time, reaching 308.506mph (496.492km/h).
Under its 34-foot ‘Coke bottle’ fuselage body, you’ll find a GE J79 turbojet engine, as used by the F-4 Phantom II aircraft. Special tyres were provided by the vehicle’s sponsor Goodyear, while disc-brakes and an aerospace-style drag parachute provided the stopping power from such ludicrous speeds.
The cockpit itself featured an onboard air-supply system for the driver, although with this vehicle being built in the ’60s for speed and not much else, don’t expect anything in the way of luxuries because that’s not the point.
RM Sotheby’s has a guide price for Sonic I in the region of US$500,000-1,000,000.
Offered for private acquisition for the first time, the first 600mph vehicle could reach a million-dollar price tag (Image: Darin Schnabel for RM Sotheby’s)
