World-renowned German auto racer Hans Stuck's pet project was to take the world land speed record and he convinced Mercedes-Benz to build a special racing car for the attempt. Officially sanctioned by Hitler himself (a race car fan influenced by Stuck), the project was started in 1937, while the Nazi Third Reich was at the height of its powers. Automotive designer Dr. Ferdinand Porsche first targeted a speed of 550 km/h (342 mph), but after George Eyston's and John Cobb's successful LSR runs of 1938-39 the target speed was raised to 600 km/h (373 mph). By late 1939, when the project was finished, the target speed was a much higher 750 km/h (465 mph). This would also be the first attempt at the absolute land speed record on German soil, Hitler envisioned the T80 as another propaganda triumph of German technological superiority to be witnessed by all the world courtesy of German television. The same autobahn course had already proven itself ideal for record-breaking in smaller capacity classes, Britain's Goldie Gardner having exceeded 200 mph (320 km/h) there in a 1,500 cc MG.The T80 is currently on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. Many people over the decades have urged Mercedes to fully restore the T80 and test run her to see if she would have reached 750 km/h (465 mph).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_T80
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