Projects Racing

Teague-Welch-Banks Streamliner

This is The World’s Fastest Single Piston Engine Hot Rod. It set the F.I.A. 5L to 8L Class Ten two-way record in October 2002 at 405.976 after previously setting the 8L and larger Class II record at 425.050, with a best one-way of 432 mph.

CATEGORY A – Group I – Class 10 – Reciprocating Engine with Supercharger

Date	Entry Name	Driver	Flying Mile	Flying Kilometer
10/02	Teague-Welch-Banks	Al Teague	405.976 *	654.201 *

Al Teague’s streamliner holds two FIA international records over 400mph. It is the world’s fastest ground vehicle with a single-piston engine and two-wheel drive, hitting an average speed of 425 mph over a 1-mile course with a 432-mph peak. The old-school car evolved not through fancy wind tunnels, but via the basic cut-and-try method. Teague’s car began life as a 312-mph open-wheel Lakester. Enclosing the front wheels, narrowing the track, and partially enclosing the rear raised speeds to 354. Six more years of development, fully enclosing the rear, and a better engine (Banks Powered) got the car over 400. It may not be high tech by today’s standards, but it sure does run. Believe it or not, the car weighs 4,000 pounds (salt racers use weight for traction and stability). — Hot Rod Magazine

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Teague-Welch-Banks Streamliner

Speedomotive - Peter Harholdt

Teague-Welch-Banks Streamliner

Almost race time

Teague-Welch-Banks Streamliner

Banks Powered push truck

Working on the Streamliner

It's almost time

Latest News

Helping Racers Go For 200 MPH

Banks has a storied history at the Bonneville Salt Flats, having been directly responsible for setting scores of records in dozens of classes. The Banks/Geisler Studebaker set records for 10 years in nearly a dozen classes. The Sundowner Corvette coupe was the world’s fastest passenger car in 1981 at 240 mph. In 1986, Banks came back with a Pontiac Trans-Am and ran ...

When it Comes to Racers...We Roll Our Own!

Gale Banks has a long history of building and racing high-performance vehicles. Over the years, the company has experimented with various fuels, including methanol, nitromethane, hydrogen, and diesel. Banks Power has also developed innovative turbocharging technologies and engine modifications to achieve record-breaking performance.

Record holders and car builders convened recently in Pomona, Calif., to discuss the preparation, promotion and psychology of chasing a land-speed record. From the February 20, 2012 edition of The New York Times: Away From the Salt Flats, a Gathering of Land-Speed LuminariesBy RONALD AHRENS POMONA, Calif. – For all the wind-tunnel testing and manic fund-raising that may ...