Anteater

First of the "Green Monsters" to be built specifically for Bonneville by Art Arfons, dubbed "the anteater" because of the shape of its nose and powered by a 1,710 cu.in. Allison aircraft engine with two-stage supercharger, it was designed with the outright land land speed record in mind (the body shape, behind the driving compartment, was reminiscent of John Cobb's Railton), but it became quickly clear that it lacked the necessary power, which soon convinced Arfons to switch to jet power. The "anteater" debuted at Speed Week in 1960, then remained on the salt together with the Flying Caduceus for the LSR attempts, but was plagued with clutch problems. In 1961 the car was back at Speed Week where it set fastest speed of the meet at 313,780 mph (one-way).

He returned in 1962 with the infamous Cyclops, powered by a J-47 jet that had Arfons sitting directly in front of the air inlet of the 8,000hp turbine. The vehicle achieved 330 mph and still holds the record for the fastest open-cockpit vehicle. That’s right. He was out in the breeze at 330 mph.

Art Arfon's first LSR car, the "Anteater". Still Allison powered of course. This photo was from 1961.

Art Arfons' racing vehicle, the "Anteater," being worked on before racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway. (University of Utah Multimedia Archive)

Source: Ugo Fadini