Sign up for the newsletter

Jul 29, 2024 - News

Photos: The Bonneville Salt Flats record-setters

Erin Alberty

Add Axios on Google

Add Axios on Google

French racing driver Jean Hebert driving the Renault Etoile Filante, setting a world speed record at 308.85 km/h. United States, Great Salt Lake, September 5, 1956. (Photo by: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) — French driver Jean Hebert set a world speed record in the Renault Étoile Filante at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Sept. 5, 1956. Photo: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Here's a photo tour of Utah's famous salt flats, with the vehicles and drivers that made history there.

ICYMI: The 1914 car that started it all on the Bonneville Salt Flats

Photo of men standing around a car in 1914. The car is the Blitzen Benz, an early race car. — The Blitzen Benz in August 1914, when it set a new record for speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Image via Utah State Archives

Old photo of a 1930s race car, with a driver opening the door and top hatch — Ab Jenkins with his record-setting "Mormon Meteor" Duesenberg in the 1930s. Jenkins, a Salt Lake City resident who went on to serve as mayor, had been building Utah's racing scene since the 1920s, when he raced a train and won. He set several endurance land speed records. Image via the University of Utah

A race car drives by a mountain on the Bonneville Salt Flats, 1935. — British driver Malcolm Campbell became the first person on record to drive more than 300 mph, in 1935 at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Photo: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

A man in a race car wears a gas mask to avoid inhaling fumes. — British racing driver and engineer George Eyston wears a gas mask to avoid inhaling fumes in the cockpit of his car, the Thunderbolt, August 1938. Photo: Jeano Orlando/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

A driver in coveralls and goggles stands next to a race car in the 1930s on salt flats — John Cobb, another British driver, waves next to his Railton racing car in 1938. Cobb and Eyston frequently broke each others' records on the salt flats. Photo: Bettmann Collection, via Getty Images

Rex Mays drives an Offenhauser-powered Midget racecar to a speed record near a mountain on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1949, just months before his death in California. — Racing star Rex Mays drives an Offenhauser-powered Midget racecar to a speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1949, just months before he died in a crash in Del Mar, California. Photo: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

Donald Healey's modified Austin-Healey 'Streamliner' attempting a speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA, August 1954. — Donald Healey's modified Austin-Healey "Streamliner," shown here in 1954, set an array of records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Photo: National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images

German land speed racer Wilhelm Herz (1912 - 1998) with his 500cc NSU Delphin III motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, where he established a new world motorcycle speed record, 8th August 1956. The vehicle is fitted with a streamlined shell. — German racer Wilhelm Herz with his 500cc NSU Delphin III motorcycle at the salt flats, where he established a new world motorcycle speed record in 1956. Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Motorcyclist Burt Munro with the "Munro Special" — AKA the "World's Fastest Indian" — on the salt flats following Munro's first record. — New Zealand motorcyclist Burt Munro with the "Munro Special" — aka the "World's Fastest Indian" — on the salt flats following Munro's first record in 1962. Photo: Eric Rickman/The Enthusiast Network via Getty Images/Getty Images

Art Arfons stands next to his jet-powered "Green Monster" car on the salt flats. — Driver Art Arfons stands next to his jet-powered "Green Monster" car, which set records in 1965. Photo: Bettmann Collection, via Getty Images

Craig Breedlove with his "Spirit of America," the first car to exceed 600mph, in 1965. — Craig Breedlove with his "Spirit of America," the first car to exceed 600 mph, in 1965. Photo: Bettmann Collection, via Getty Images

a woman in a helmet is hoisted up by a man as she holds a piece of paper. — Driver Lee Breedlove is hoisted up by her husband, Craig, after receiving a telegram confirming her land speed record for women at Bonneville in 1965. All attached captions fail to identify her by her name. Photo: Fairfax Media Archives via Getty.

The Blue Flame, driven by Gary Gabelich in a record setting trial in 1970. — The Blue Flame, driven by Gary Gabelich in a record-setting trial in 1970. Photo: Paolo KOCH/Getty Images

A red race car with the No. 71, sitting on the salt flats. — NASCAR driver Bobby Isaac set 28 records in 1971 with this Dodge Daytona. Photo: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

A driver in a "monocycle" — a single, motorized tire that wraps around the driver. — Driver Kerry Mclean takes his novel ''monocycle" for a record-setting 51 mph in 2000. Photo: Dan Callister/Liaison via Getty Images

A skateboarder on a motorized skateboard racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats — Skateboarder Vaughn Shafer set a world record of 70 mph in 2000 at the salt flats. Photo: Dan Callister/Liaison via Getty Images

Previously in Old News

Add Axios on Google

More Salt Lake City stories