Ford 999 - Icy Speed Record

Icy Speed Record

Arrow also had a successful racing career, but her most famous instance was to come. She was crashed in September 1903 during a race, killing the driver Frank Day. However, Henry Ford bought back the broken car and repaired it with the intent of performing a speed run on a frozen lake. He renamed it 999, as the original red car had been retired already, and the press referred to it as the "new 999," "Red Devil," or a combination of the two.

On January 12, 1904, Henry Ford personally drove the rechristened 999 to a speed of 91.37 mph (147.05 km/h) on Lake St. Clair, a land speed record. It stood for only a month, but this was ample time to bring more good publicity for Ford's new company.

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