1996 JULIEN AND BOYER MATRA-HONDA LAND SPEED RECORD CAR World record holder The Julien and Boyer land speed record car was purpose-built to out-perform the 500cc one-hour record of 189.5km/h (average) set by Englishman John K. Brisse in 1953. This achievement remained unbeaten until 1997 when Henri Julien and Bernard Boyer built a record car capable of exceeding Brisses 1953 average speed record. The inimitable French Blue aerodynamic streamliner set a new world record by achieving an average speed of 222.5km/h at the CERAM track in Mortefontaine situated 40km from Paris on 3rd September 1997 beating the record Brisse had held for an astonishing 44 years. The record set in 1997 by Julien and Boyer stands today and accordingly is still recognised and listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Julien and Boyer both had outstanding technical achievements in the highest echelons of motorsport. Julien was the founder of Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS) in 1968, winning several championships over 36 seasons as an F2 constructor, then moved into F1 construction, in 1986. Bernard Boyer was a skilled racing engineer, particularly with the Matra team that secured three consecutive victories at Le Mans (1972-1973-1974) and two World Sports Car Constructors Championships (1973-1974). He was famously involved in winning the 1969 Formula One World Drivers and Constructors Championship with Sir Jackie Stewart in the Matra MS80. With the co-operation of Honda France, Michelin, and others, the concept and design of this record-breaking car was developed in early 1996, and the car was ready for testing in 1997. The lightweight body, built with carbon-fibre and epoxy resin, weighed only 290 kilograms. The chain-driven 499cc Honda V-twin engine was married to a six-speed manual gearbox and fitted to a lightweight tubular steel chassis with four-wheel independent coil-over suspension and dual circuit twin-disc brakes. The interior was simply a plastic bucket seat, a wooden steering wheel and two essential gauges-one for temperature and the other for engine revolutions per minute. The World record was shattered and more-so. Boyer managed to beat four additional records for one-off, non-supercharged cars with displacement between 351 and 500cc, including average speeds sustained over 10 and 100 kilometres. The 1996 Julien Boyer Land Speed Record Car was owned by the famous Brazilian collector, Mr. Abraham Kogan, before being purchased at the RM Automobiles of London auction on 31st October 2007 before being imported into Australia and subsequently selling to the current owner in 2016. The car remains well preserved and in the near condition it was in when it completed the speed attempt, being virtually unused. It is accompanied by the original concept drawings; photos of the forming of the body mould and chassis construction; the speed attempt technical records and official FIA documentation and regulations, including the Certification de la longueur de la ligne de record. This car is being sold unregistered.
NOTE: Please note the images on the neutral white wall were taken in 2016. The images of the car in situ in the musuem have been taken in the last 3 months and reflect its current condition.
