Since childhood, Barry John has had a strong interest in Land Speed Record legends but it was the discovery of Hot Rod magazine that really ignited his passion.
“I knew the names of [the] Campbells and John Cobb,” John says, “but through the pages of Hot Rod I became mesmerised by the American challengers.
“Hot rodders Craig Breedlove and Art Arfons came from an age when conventional thinking was thrown aside and anything seemed possible.”
Barry John’s designs have focused on the drivers and characters, too. Clockwise from top left: first LSR holder Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat; pioneer Walter Baker; Lambretta rider Romolo Ferri; land and water speed legend Donald Campbell
That keen interest in high speed led to visits to Beaulieu to view surviving Land Speed Record machines, while trips to Santa Pod and building a Ford Popular street rod further fuelled his enthusiasm.
As John researched the stories of speed stars, he had an idea of producing his own book: “Today the adjective ‘awesome’ has lost its true meaning, but for me the stories of Kitty O’Neil, Mickey and Danny Thompson and Frank Lockhart are truly epic.”
