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British Anzani 996 Record Racer

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Alessandro Anzani moved from Milan to France in the early years of the twentieth century. He had great mechanical skills, a passion for speed, and a consuming ambition for personal success. He had had his first contacts with motor vehicles in Italy, but it was in France that he excelled, both as racer and engine designer.

Anzani went into business for himself and built a three-cylinder radial engine, then he built the engine that made it possible for Bleriot to become the first man to fly a plane across the English Channel. Anzani was the first designer to maintain that the radial engine should not rotate together with the propeller.

The engines that Anzani built in the plants he founded in Milan, Courbe-voie, and London were used for motorcycles and airplanes. He built only engines, not the vehicles they powered. In 1923 British Anzani built a large-displacement two-cylinder V
Motorcycle: British Anzani 996 Record Racer engine. It was mounted on a sturdy double chassis' vith an elastic front fork similar to those in Harley-David-son motorcycles. This new motorcycle was ridden by Temple to win its first race at Brooklands on May 26, 1923. On November 10 of that year Temple again rode the British Anzani, setting a new world speed record of 108.48 m.p.h. He rode one lap at about 114 m.p.h.

Manufacturer: British Anzani Engine Co., London
Type: Racing and world record Year: 1923
Engine: British Anzani two-cylinder V, 57°, four-stroke, with single-shaft overhead distribution, two bevel gear shafts. Displacement 995.5 cc. (83 mm. x 92 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Three-speed separate Power: About 58 h.p. Maximum speed: About 115 m.p.h. Chassis: Continuous, tubular, double
cradle. Front, elastic suspension; rear
rigid
Brakes: Rear, side drum