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1902 FORD 999 Ford’s first race car was named "999" after the Empire State “of New York” Express No. 999 steam locomotive which had famously set a world speed record of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) on May 10, 1893, making it the first man-made vehicle to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h) under its own propulsion. Driven by Barney Oldfield, Harley Cunningham, Tom Cooper & Henry Ford. Powered by an inline 4 cylinder, 18.9 liter, 1155.3 cubic inch, 7.25” bore & 7” stroke engine making approximately 50 HP. Cost: $5,000 (a considerable sum in 1902) On January 12, 1904, Henry Ford personally drove the 999 to a speed of 91.37 mph (147.05 km/h) on Frozen Lake St. Clair, a land speed record. In March of 1963 it was rolled out of Ford’s Dearborn museum by the curator to let Dan Gurney drive it, he said it was “like a historic form of space travel; if you could close your eyes it felt like you were back in 1904, a fantastic moment.” After a few laps it blew the cylinder head 25 feet in the air. To our knowledge, the Ford 999 has not been driven since.
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