1932 Pierce Arrow Speed Tests At Bonneville

The Jalopy Journal posted this great 1932 footage of Ab Jenkins performing a 24 hour endurance test on the new Pierce Arrow 462 cubic inch V-12 engine at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  This video is one of those awesome looks back in history, even if you are not a car person.  His average speed was 112.91 mph.  I love the comparisons to other manufacturers at various points in the film.  To whom did Pierce Arrow compare itself?  Ford?  Chevrolet?  Hudson?  Studebaker?  Packard?  Even the mighty Duesenberg?  Nope.  Pierce Arrow shot higher:  Bugatti, Delage and Voisin - the big, rare European supercars of their day. 

Another thing to remember is how dangerous such feats were back then.  Up until the 1950's, the odds of a person surviving a serious traffic accident - on the street, at normal driving speeds - were essentially 0.  This guy is hurtling around the desert at over 100 mph in the modern (safety) equivalent of a buckboard with an airplane motor strapped into it.  Granted, there was not much for him to hit out there, but one tire blowout and he was history.