Creation
Henry Ford had an early interest in racing cars, having built and driven in 1901 a 26 horsepower (19 kW) model that won a race against Alexander Winton and other challengers. It was from the proceeds of this race that Ford created the Henry Ford Company. In March 1902, Ford left this original company over disputes with his stockholders and Henry Leland, taking with him $900 and schematics for a planned racer. In Ford's absence, Leland took over the company, and made it into the Cadillac Motor Company later in 1902.
Henry Ford collaborated with bicycle racer Tom Cooper and a team of several assistants to create two similar racing cars that were as yet unnamed. They were painted red and yellow, respectively. The result was a huge engine with a bare chassis attached to it, with no bodywork whatsoever. Both of the cars were extremely heavily engineered, with an 18.8 L inline-4 engine, 230-lb flywheel, a bore of 7.25 inches (184 mm) and a stroke of 7.0 inches (180 mm). Power was quoted anywhere from 70 to 100 horsepower (75 kW). There was no rear suspension, no differential, and steering was controlled by a crude pivoting metal bar, similar to a straight handlebar on a mountain bicycle. The total cost of the project was $5000.
Though Ford's name was attached to the cars and the ensuing legend, he had ironically sold his stake in them for $800 to Barney Oldfield and Cooper when the cars had refused to start during a test drive two weeks before the first race. Ultimately, Ford would abandon his share of the racing money, but would reserve the right to promotions and publicity of the cars, which secured his image behind their eventual successes. He meanwhile built up Ford Motor Company, which surpassed Winton in terms of production by the end of 1903.
In summer of 1902, Cooper and Oldfield carried out further work and got the red one working. The red one was named 999 for the Empire State Express No. 999. No. 999 was a type 4-4-0 American 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. The yellow one was named Arrow for the connotations of a sleek arrow flying through the air.**
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