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The MG EX181 at speed. Still image from video.
Sir Stirling Moss is most often associated with sports car and Formula One racing, but the English driver, considered by many to be the best of his day, also held a land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, courtesy of automaker MG. British Pathe documented the development of MG’s EX181 streamliner, as well as Moss’s 1957 attempt at the record, in this surprisingly comprehensive three and a half minute video.
Following the same adage of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” embraced by U.S. automakers, MG executives realized that holding a land speed record would be beneficial to sales of its cars worldwide. Focusing on the Class F record for engines between 1,100 cc and 1,500 cc, then standing at 203 MPH, MG began development of a mid-engine streamliner called the EX181 in 1956. Its teardrop-shaped aluminum body boasted a minimal frontal area, requiring the driver to assume a semi-reclining position to pilot the car. No thought was given to safety, as a mere two inches of dead space existed between the car’s nose and the driver’s feet, but MG calculated the car’s slippery shape would allow it to top four miles per minute (240 MPH) at Bonneville.
Power came from a supercharged 1,500-cc twin-cam engine, fueled by a noxious mixture of methanol, nitrobenzene and sulfuric ether, but its 290-horsepower output was impressive by any measure. In August of 1957, the team headed across the Atlantic to begin practice and testing at Bonneville, and the American driver referred to in the film was none other than Phil Hill. Hill reportedly struggled with fumes in the cockpit at throttle lift off, but details like potential asphyxiation failed to deter Moss from his record attempt.
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Stirling Moss in the cockpit of the EX181. Still image from video.
On August 23, Moss piloted the EX181 to a two-way average speed in excess of 245 MPH, besting the existing Class F record of Goldie Gardner by over 42 MPH. Moss would go on to set a total of 10 speed records (five international and five American) behind the wheel of the EX181, but his title of “world’s fastest MG driver” would be short-lived. In 1959, MG returned to Bonneville with Hill as driver, and the updated, higher-output EX181 promptly established a new Class F record of 254.91 MPH. Today, the MG streamliner known as the “Roaring Raindrop” occupies a place of honor at Britain’s Motor Heritage Center Museum, a proud testament to a time when British sports cars ruled more than just road courses.