The standing mile is fast becoming the next to-do thing in the automotive world. Anyone with a car (or motorcycle) can drive out to these events and open up their cars to speeds they would normally never be able to experience. The West Coast of America never played host to such an event –until now.
The Mojave Mile is the first, of what would be many, standing mile events held in the Mojave desert of southern California.
It's actually not held in the middle of the desert, but at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Yeah, you heard that right: a SPACE PORT! This is the same airport that houses Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo!
The airport also houses retired aircraft, like this squadron of F-4 Phantoms. What a completely bonkers backdrop to an equally bonkers automotive event!
There were about eighty cars out on the grid which is a fantastic turn out for the inaugural event. The grid was filled with a nice variety of cars but mostly American domestics.
One of the best things about this event was seeing the everyday man take their weekend cars out so they can stretch their respective cars' wings.
There were all sorts of Mustang out in the field: a classic, a fox body, some fourth generations, and of course some of the brand new models.
Check out this fantastic Ford LTD.
There's just something about these old american cars….
Look at that the art on the front end of this yellow beast. So cool!
This 1968 Mustang was at Bonneville last year where it did 204 MPH with an engine pushing out 500 horses.
I overheard that at its current setup, the motor should've been pushing out twice that number: 1100 horsepower. The car ran a 172 MPH… something wasn't right with the tuning.
Fox body Mustangs are gaining in popularity again very quickly. You usually see the fast back Fox bodies at motorsport events but rarely these coupes.
This Charger reminds me of the Artee's Charger with its wheel choice.
This orange VW Bug was chasing after the goal of 200mph. Actually, I kid –I kid!
This very clean Corvette ZR1 ran a mile of 165.5mph. The most Corvettes ran in the 150+mph range, where as the more modified or veteran standing mile drivers were hitting the 170+ mark.
I rarely see Mercedes CLK63 Blacks on the street, so it was quite a sight to see one here. Props to the owner to actually coming out to the event and letting open the taps! No one garage queens.
Included among the scant few late model cars was this BMW E92 M3. The motor was stroked to a 4.6L and a super charger was added to produce a measly 613 wheel horsepower with 419 wheel torque
The fantastic thing about this car, in addition to its power output, is its choice of livery. The livery was designed to make the car look like a Lady Bug! In the previous photo, you can see the antennae in the hood. This dear Lady Bug ran a 181.8 MPH at the end of the day. Cute.
This R35 GTR was, quite literally, the only import out on the grid.
I was hoping to see a more exotics or super cars on the grid, but the most exotic that turned up was this red Pantera.
But there were a plethora of Ford GTs out there….
Racing helmet and gloves: a sight that should be seen more often in a car like this.
The event seemed like a Corvette vs. Ford GT shoot out since there were so many of them. The Ford GTs won with one of them doing a run at 186 MPH.
Here's another Ford GT (and another right behind it). This one is wearing the very iconic Gulf livery.
The vintage livery looks just amazing.
There were a lot of land speed veterans at the event. Take this member of the very exclusive Bonneville 200MPH club for instance. One day I hope to be a member of that club… one day.
We at Speedhunters normally cover things that are four-wheeled, but at an event like this, you can't get away from speed demons of the two-wheeled kind. This bike is insane….
This Ford Racing "Cobra Jet" Mustang boasts a 475hp aluminum block 5.4L DOHC supercharged engine.
This mustang was one of the few cars specifically built to haul as much butt as possible in a straight line. You can hear the extra long gearing throughout its run.
Towards the end of the day, people did everything they can to gain as much speed as possible. This RX-8, as with most speed hunters, started taping up every hole to smooth out the body as much as possible.
As the cars get pushed more and more throughout the day, they inevitably start to break or, at the least, spring leaks. Safety workers were on hand to remedy this as quick as possible since the air strip was still used on a daily basis. No pilot wants to land their plane on a patch of motor oil.
This 1936 Indian the definite head turner of the event. It ran a standing mile of ~80mph. Not bad for a motorcycle from that era….
The Indian may have been a major head turner, but no car on the grid garnered as much attention as the infamous Big Red Camaro. This was THE sexiest car on the grid, and also the fastest.
I probably took more photos of this car than any other car at the event. This car is pure car pornography –inside and out.
It tucks wheel. IT TUCKS WHEEL.
Big Red was one of the many cars to have a goal of breaking 200mph. Most of the cars did not hit their goals. Throughout the day the Big Red ran in the 190 MPH range. They hit 196.6 MPH on the second to last run of the day. With only one shot left, Big Red mustered what it could and ran a standing mile pass of 200.7 MPH!
Big Red Camaro may have been the car of the event, but the most inspirational story to come out of the event was the story of the driver of behind this 1947 Hudson race truck. The driver, Michael-Ryan Patterson, is a quadriplegic. He was injured while diving in a lake near his college and broke his neck as he hit the bottom. Despite the disability, he ran the mile of ~120mph. More info on this car, and its driver soon!
It's the people that can make or break automotive events. Everyone at the Mojave Mile was extremely friendly and willing to explain anything to anyone that had questions. It seemed like everyone was working together in the single act of hunting as much speed as possible.
It was an overall fantastic inaugural event. We're to see this event will grow. It's currently overshadowed by THE standing mile event in America, the Texas Mile (which we will be in attendance). We all know that California is home to the biggest car and aftermarket industry in America, so I'm sure the event will become much bigger and maybe even rival that of the Lone Star state's.
Watch out Texas, California is coming for ya!
-Linhbergh