The claim is without merit since the activities were conducted without benefit of any motorsports sanctioning authority. The vehicle was neither inspected, nor certified and all the timing personnel were on the James TV payroll. World speed records require two runs over a one-mile course within one hour. James was 5,148 feet short -- being timed one-way for a total of 132 feet; he made only three or four passes over an eight to ten-hour period. Any world record holder will tell you it's quite a technical feat to hold speed for a full mile.

Mr. James efforts count for absolutely nothing on the world motorsports stage and amount to little more than a self-promoting "TV racer" PR stunt since he chose to ignore the sport's sanctioning rules that have applied to all records certified for the past 80 years.

Continue reading Not So Fast: Jesse James' hydrogen speed "record" challenged

Not So Fast: Jesse James' hydrogen speed "record" challenged originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Jesse James successfully sets new hydrogen land-speed record

Jesse James successfully sets new hydrogen land-speed record originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

REPORT: Jesse James plans land-speed record for hydrogen-powered streamliner originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shoot your TV: Jesse James is a Dead Man coming soon originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

click above to see more images of Radial Hell

If somebody told us that a custom chopper was being built for Airstream, we would have assumed that the Orange County Chopper boys were behind it. Not so, it seems. According to the press release pasted after the jump, Jesse James of West Coast Choppers fame and his crew are hammering, riveting and welding together thin sheets of aluminum to construct a custom motorcycle and sidecar combo that will debut at the 2008 Legend of the Motorcycle show on May 3rd. This is the second time that James has released a new bike at the show, the first being back in '06 with his Radial Hell bike (shown above) that is powered by a Rotec 7-cylinder radial engine normally reserved for powering aircraft. We're always up for a new take on motorcycle design, and the idea of strapping the Monster bike to an old Airstream trailer has us wondering just what Jesse's bike will look like.

[Source: Legend of the Motorcycle]

Gallery: Radial Hell

Continue reading Jesse James working on custom chopper for Airstream

Jesse James working on custom chopper for Airstream originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above for high resolution photos of the car

We doubt Danny Panoz envisioned anyone attaching wings to an Esperante, let alone actually flying one. Of course, throw Jesse James of West Coast Choppers into the equation and anything can happen. This 2004 Panoz Esperante actually took flight on an episode of Monster Garage, making it off the ground for 280 feet before touching down safely. The interior has been stripped to make room for a full roll cage, a propeller is mounted in the trunk, and the 36' wings are handmade.

The final bid of $45,000 ($54,000 after auction fees) wasn't too high, although the Monster Garage cars haven't been commanding high numbers. We can't imagine what exactly you would want to do with this vehicle, so it's no surprise that bidding didn't come close to six figures.

Gallery: Barrett-Jackson 2008: Panoz Esperante Flying Car

Barrett-Jackson 2008: Panoz Esperante Flying Car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jesse James goes green and opens organic, solar-powered burger joint originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 May 2006 18:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.