Napier L48 Lake Perkolilli 100 mph

In 1907, a team from the Fremantle Motor Museum in Western Australia embarked on an adventure to drive the museum's 1904 Napier L48 Samson at the Lake Gairdner speed trials in South Australia. Unseasonal rain caused the event to be cancelled so they drove back, across the Nullarbor, to the legendary Lake Perkolilli race track near Kalgoorlie where many Australian speed records were set between 1914 and 1939. With only a handful of spectators including Team Shephard (who would later set a world record for the fastest speeds driving a Jaguar E-Type) the car was driven at incredible speeds for a car which uses the 15 Litre six cylinder race engine made in 1904 from the original car. Arthur Macdonald reached 104.65 mph over a measured mile at Daytona Beach in 1905. The aim was to exceed 100 mph at Lake Perkolilli and feel what Arthur Macdonald must have felt when he was the fastest man in the world.

[@carlcushmanhybels8159]

Thanks for doing and posting! Your video really shows and feels how the driver and Napier car gat it do and perform this classic feat.

[@graemecocks2621]

Thank you. It is an amazing car!

[@THUYLE-su2km]

That gave us goosebumps to watch! Thanks for posting it Graeme.

[@lakeperkolilli7658]

It is an amazing car. I hadn't remembered how it ran so smoothly at 100mph. There was absolutely no feeling of instability when we exceeded the ton. It was sensational.

[@graemecocks2621]

The car will drive on Daytona Beach at the Historic North Turn Legends Beach Parade before the Daytona 500 and then will head for the Bonhams auction at Fernandina Beach on 29 February.

[@MinuteBurn]

A proper automobile.

[@shroin123]

Amazing!

[@sir.tacocartbearson1569]

My guess is 1.3 million dollars is what it will go for in a few weeks. I have nothing to back this estimate up with. Just a feeling.

[@graemecocks2621]

What sets the Napier L48 apart from most historic reconstructions is that it uses the original engine and the car has been reconstructed around that engine using hundreds of parts cast from unique casting patterns made especially to replicate the original car. Few cars have been made with such a commitment to detail. The old car world is watching to see who will secure this work of automotive art.