Craig broke several land-speed records, and was the first to reach the 400, 500 and 600mph speeds on turbojet-powered automobiles. He dubbed each of his vehicles as Spirit of America. Below is a clip of Breedlove’s making a record breaking run at the Bonneville Sat Flats in Utah. In 1962 Craig made his first attempt to break the 400mph speed barrier with the first Spirit of America — A Shell Oil sponsored 3-wheeled vehicle with a GEJ47 jet engine. Breedlove succeeded with the engine that averaged a 407.45 mph speed. Later, that very car was placed in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. After he broke the 400 speed barrier, he aimed for 500 mph. Craig entered the FIA record book after a 2-run average of 555.483 mph in his hand built 4-wheeled Sonic I with a J79 engine. Craig Breedlove broke the 600 mph barrier with a 600.601 run and held the record for many years, until Gary Gabelich ran a 630 mph average with his own rocket-powered automobile in 1970. In 2013, the Daily Republic reported Craig was keeping a low profile in Rio Vista, where he spends most of his time in a garage assembling the next potential record-breaking jet-powered automobile.
Land-speed record-breaker Craig Breedlove stands in his Rio Vista workshop where he plans to assemble his next possibly record-breaking car. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)
