Healeys Return to Bonneville
Cape's Steve Norton travelled to Bonneville with old friend John Chatham to witness this historic return. See how they got on in this special feature...
When Steve Pike from Australia and Bruno Verstraete from Switzerland announced that they, together with a hand picked team of specialists, historians and enthusiasts, were re-creating the 1954 Endurance and Streamliner record cars, it captured the attention of the Austin Healey community around the world.
The fact that the team would run both cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah placed this future event on everyone's radar. As soon as the dates were announced, Cape's Steve Norton started to plan his trip.
Steve's journey to the USA with his old friend John Chatham started on 14th September. Base camp was in Wendover where Donald's team stayed during his record attempts in 1954.
The unique nature of the Streamliner was not just skin deep - the superstructure was equally as impressive. No detail had been overlooked with the instantly recognisable steering wheel, 'FIRE' button and the boost gauge straight from a WWII Spitfire!
The Endurance car was gorgeous - less radical than the Streamliner and you could recognise the original 100 despite being distracted by its head fairing and alloy tonneau.
Whenever the Healeys arrived at a start line a big crowd gathered, and not only Healey supporters, everyone seemed to appreciate the historical importance of this effort.
Find out what happened and how Steve Norton managed to run the Streamliner on the salt flats at 20mph!
Read the full story as it appeared in the Swedish Austin Healey Club Magazine, 'The Enthusiast'.
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