Steam-Powered Car Returns To Racing After 111 Years

If you’re looking for the best car storage Cornwall has to offer for a classic car, you might have heard of local man Dr Bob Dyke who has a passion for and amazing knowledge of classic steam cars. Bob, who’s from Penzance in Cornwall, last week was available to race a steam car called a Whistling Billy for the first time in 111 years after a ban on the car was lifted. 

The 100-year ban was revoked in 2015, after he and his colleagues spent years rallying the Motor Sport Association and this presented the first chance for Bob to race the car competitively. 

The Whistling Billy is a steam-powered car which was first built in 1905 by the White for the whistling sound it made around the track. When it first debuted, it shaved ten seconds off the world record for a dirt-track lap. 

However, after a string of accidents, one of which critically injured the driver, the car was put in storage, after being left to rust and ruin on a farm. 

Cue Dr Bob pitching up 100 years later and building his very own version of the record breaking car, according to The Mirror.

However, the Motosports Association said he was not allowed to race the car, down to the iron wheels and coal used (two things Bob refuted), as well as thoughts that it may be too competitive compared to traditional classic cars. 

The car competed at the Chateau Impney Hill Climb in Droitwich on a 1,000 yard course.