Stanley (Stanley Steamer) Rocket History

Built for the 1906 Ormond Beach (Daytona) speed trials, the Stanley Rocket — also called the 'Rocket Racer' — was a purpose-built steamer with an aerodynamic body shaped like an upturned canoe: roughly 16 feet long, about 3 feet wide, with the machinery enclosed for slipperiness. On January 26, 1906, driver Fred Marriott ran the flying mile in 28.2 seconds, setting a world land speed record of 127.66 mph and winning Stanley the Dewar Trophy.

That figure stood as the outright automobile record until 1911, and the steam-car land speed record it set was not bettered until 2009. The following year, 1907, Marriott returned with an improved Rocket and was running at around 150 mph when the car hit a rut on the beach, became airborne, and broke apart on landing. Marriott survived but was badly injured.

The 1907 crash ended Stanley's racing program for good — the twin brothers never campaigned a car again. The episode also fed public unease about steam power at speed, a small part of the tide that, over the following two decades, ran toward the gasoline engine and away from the Stanley steamer.