In a workshop in Hampshire, England, the most important land speed machine in automotive history is being carefully put back together. Most American enthusiasts have no idea it’s coming.
The Sunbeam 1000 HP — the first vehicle on earth to achieve 200 mph in a timed land speed record run — is undergoing a full mechanical restoration at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu. If the timeline holds, the 23-foot-6-inch, four-ton red monster will make its US debut on the 18th fairway at the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 16. That’s followed by a centennial re-enactment run at Daytona Beach on March 29, 2027 — exactly 100 years after Major Henry Segrave piloted the car to a two-run average of 203.792 mph on that same Florida beach.
The car has not turned a wheel under power since a slow demonstration lap at Brooklands sometime after 1927. It arrived at Beaulieu on loan in 1958 and was purchased outright by Edward, Lord Montagu in 1970. Static display ever since. Nearly 90 years of silence from a car that once made the world stand still.
The Machine Itself
Built by the Sunbeam Motor Car Company at their Moorfield facility in 1926–1927, the 1000 HP was conceived by Chief Engineer Louis Coatalen and detailed by Captain J.S. Irving. Its power came from two 22.5-litre V12 Matabele aero engines — engines that had previously powered the Maple Leaf VII powerboat before it sank during the 1921 Harmsworth Trophy Race on the Detroit River. Each unit produced approximately 435 hp at 2,000 rpm, driving through a three-speed gearbox and chain drive transmission, with the driver’s cockpit sandwiched between them. The two engines run in opposite directions from one another. There are no factory manuals.
On March 29, 1927, before 30,000 spectators at Daytona Beach, Segrave ran 200.668 mph northbound and 207.015 mph southbound. The averaged result — 203.792 mph — rewrote the record books and made the Sunbeam the first non-American car ever to attempt a land speed record on Daytona Beach.
The Restoration Race
The National Motor Museum launched its public restoration campaign on March 29, 2023, the 96th anniversary of the record, run in collaboration with Brookspeed Automotive of Hampshire, targeting £300,000 in funding. Senior Engineer Ian Stanfield completed the rear V12 rebuild, and in September 2025 that engine fired before a crowd at the Beaulieu International Autojumble. Then came January 2026. Dismantling the front engine revealed cracked blocks — caused by water freezing in the system during the car’s earlier life — along with drop damage, and camshafts fused solid by decades-old oil.
“This engine’s had a hard life and looks as though it’s been dropped at some stage, then repaired before coming to Beaulieu. We knew we were going to find differences between the two engines but the amount of damage we’ve uncovered is creating problems and means it will be more time-consuming to restore.” — Ian Stanfield, Senior Engineer, National Motor Museum
Crack repairs were handled by OCS Automotive Engineering UK. Rust-damaged pistons and bores were machined out and replaced with steel liners. Con rod white metal bearing work went to Marcos Motor Company’s Formhalls Engine Services — the same firm that aided the first engine rebuild. The body has been fully restored. Aerodynamic wheel spinners are currently being fabricated. Visitors to Beaulieu can see the rebuilt rear engine and exposed chassis while work on the front engine continues.
The American Tour
Pebble Beach confirmed the US debut in November 2025. CARS (Classic Automotive Relocation Services) has been named exclusive US logistics partner. After Pebble Beach, the car moves to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in autumn 2026, then to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America at Daytona in January 2027 — ahead of the centennial run on March 29.
“In a year’s time, motoring enthusiasts will be given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the car as it attempts a centennial run at Daytona on the 29 March 2027.” — Jon Murden, Chief Executive, National Motor Museum
“We are thrilled to know that the National Motor Museum intends to send the restored car to Pebble Beach, to share with enthusiasts here.” — Sandra Button, Chairman, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The driver who set the record, Major Henry Segrave, was born in Baltimore, Maryland — making this, as Murden has noted, a genuinely transatlantic story. Segrave later became the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously before dying in a powerboat accident on Windermere in 1930.
For American enthusiasts, August 16 at Pebble Beach is the date to mark. The Sunbeam 1000 HP is the founding document of the 200 mph era — and it’s finally coming to the country where the record was set.
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