The Golden Hawk streamliner passed all the rigorous inspections and qualifiers at Bonneville, enabling it to return to Utah in August for a crack at the land speed record.
Just over a month ago, a team of Fraser Valley volunteers who built the Golden Hawk streamliner were in Salt Flats of Utah, pursuing the dream of setting a land speed record.
Following their success down south, that same team - headed up by driver Randy Pierce - will be in Langley this weekend.
There's no racing qualifiers or inspections here. Instead, Pierce and the support team will simply be showing off the 32-foot racer at Langley Good Times Cruise-In.
The Golden Hawk is an incredibly powerful machine (3.9-litre Cummings turbo-diesel engine producing 750 horsepower with nitrous oxide).
But it's not so much what components went into making this car, but rather the blood, sweat and tears of a team of dedicated volunteers that makes the story behind the Golden Hawk so incredible.
Over the course of several years, and with the help of more than $400,000 in volunteer money, countless hours of donated time, and support of more than 100 sponsors, the Golden Hawk was brought to fruition.
It was that combined community effort and unwavering dedication that enabled Pierce and the team to take the machine to the Bonneville Speed Week last month.
The good news, said Frank Vaski, is that the Golden Hawk passed all the "arduous" technical inspections and time qualifiers in Bonneville. It is now approved for return to the Salt Flats next year, to pursue a land speed record.
Vaski is spokesman for Collision Plus, the company responsible for the body work and painting of Golden Hawk.
It's been a few years since Collision Plus participated in Cruise-In, Vaski explained. But since the Golden Hawk just passed all the qualifications in Bonneville, and it is a shining example - literally - of a new water-born paint the company is rolling out, this seemed an ideal time to showcase the car in this region's premier car show.
- Canwest News reporter Carolyn Cooke wrote about the Golden Hawk streamliner and the community efforts that readied it for Bonneville. That story can be read online: www.langleyadvance.com, and click on "News
