Anthony Hopkins' The World's Fastest Indian ranks
among the must-see racing movies of all time, if you don't mind expanding your
repertoire to include motorcycles. The kicker is that it actually happened – 50
years ago. So to mark the anniversary, the Indian Motorcycle company is out to
recreate the feat.
A team of engineers from the factory spent extra
time after hours building this special Indian Scout with an upgraded engine and
streamlined bodywork. The finished product is set to undergo shakedown testing
at El Mirage in California before heading to the Bonneville Salt Flats where
Burt Munro's story went down.
As if the same marque's involvement isn't enough,
Indian has brought the great nephew of Burt Munro – the protagonist of the
original story – on board. Born and raised in the same town of Invergargill,
New Zealand, Lee Munro is a motorcycle racer whose career has been inspired by
his great uncle (or his grandfather's first cousin at any rate). Lee hopes to race
on the Isle of Man in the future, but before he does, he'll be riding this
tribute bike at Bonneville on August 13, 50 years after his famous great uncle
made his run, only hopefully with better safety measures in place.
The idea is to honor Burt's feat rather than
break his record, but it should be a fitting tribute either way.
