Spectre has named legendary land speed racer Kenny Hoover as the driver of the company's BGS (Blown Gas Streamliner) class streamliner, a historic vehicle that Spectre hopes to set a land speed record with at more than 400 mph at this year's Speed Week competition at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats.
"When I met Amir (Rosenbaum, founder of Speed By Spectre) at the salt years ago, his commitment to the salt and need for speed were so genuine that we became fast friends," said Hoover. "I'm proud to be on the Speed by Spectre team this year and look forward to taking the Spectre SpeedLiner on a record run at Speed Week."
Having either set or broken 36 land speed records in his driving career in the past four decades, Hoover is among the most experienced land speed drivers on the planet-quite literally. He is a member of one of the most elite speed clubs in the world, the Bonneville 200 MPH Club. It is said that more men have landed on the moon than are members of the 200 MPH Club. In addition, Hoover is also a member of the club's 300 MPH chapter.
The Spectre SpeedLiner is finalizing its transformation into a land speed record liner now at Performance Fabrication in Northern California. This 500ci Cadillac V-8-powered piece of machinery is twin-turbocharged and makes approximately 1,600 hp, fed through a Liberty five-speed manual transmission and a custom-built quick-change differential. With the car expected to exceed 400 mph, new wheels to handle the new tires are being made, along with new added coolers and water tanks to support the turbos. Aesthetically, the streamliner has shaved several inches off her waist-13 to be exact-for a total of 29 inches wide. Her finished length is expected to stretch from 23 feet to a svelt 33 feet, with a chassis stretched 24 inches, wheels moved 6 inches forward, and the nose moved up approximately 18 inches for a sleek front stretch of 48 inches. The rear section of the SpeedLiner is now rounded and smoothed out like the front, and stretched about 24 inches.
Rosenbaum explained their land speed efforts by saying, "Working hard to squeeze every bit of speed and performance out of whatever it is we had at the time is what drove us 25 years ago, and what continues to motivate us today." He continued, "The SpeedLiner is an extension of that drive, and the realization of a personal dream of mine. Ideally, I want to go over 400 in the SpeedLiner. According to the SCTA Record Book, only three guys in the world have ever done over 400 mph, and they were in turbine vehicles or blown and nitro-fueled streamliners. No one's over done over 400 in a blown gasoline-powered streamliner-yet! First step is to break the BGS class record of 352.25 mph, and I can't think of a better way to celebrate Spectre's 25th anniversary this year." For more information, visit www.speedbyspectre.com.