Move over Usain Bolt... Here are our Top Five fastest collectibles

Last Friday's race has been described as the win that struck down the mighty Lightening Bolt: Tyson Gay's defeat of Olympic Champion Usain Bolt (pictured top right) at the DN Galan stadium in Stockholm.

Gay beat the World Record-holding Jamaican in 9.84 seconds, with Bolt finishing just a fraction of a second later at 9.97.


US runner Tyson Gay beat Jamaican
Usain Bolt in Stockholm, on Friday

Of course, this was no ordinary race, but a meeting of the two fastest runners in history. So, to mark the occasion, we've compiled our own list of the Top Five speediest collectibles...

5th place - Geoff Hurst's 1966 World Cup final shirt (£8,800)

He may not have been as fast a runner as Gay or Bolt, but it certainly felt like it to English football fans at Wembley Stadium on July 30, 1966, as commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme famously cried: "They think it's all over... It is now!"

There, in the very final moments of the game (score 3-2), and as supporters spilled onto the pitch, the West Germans sent their defenders forward in a desperate attempt to score a last minute equaliser.


Geoff Hurst's spare shirt from the 1966
World Cup final

Hurst spotted his moment and outran them all. Later admitting that he'd only wanted to shoot the ball as far into Wembley's stands as possible to buy England extra time, Hurst did much better than that: blasting the ball into Germany's net for an historic 4-2 score.

Years later, in June 2010, one of Hurst's shirts taken to the Final in which he scored his three goals (regarded by many as the most 'technically perfect' hat trick ever scored in English football) went to auction in the UK. The shirt scored a final price of £8,800.

4th place - Apollo Reaction Control Rocket Engine (£21,960)

Here's a speedy collectible of a more extra-terrestrial nature... During the dangerous manned Apollo lunar missions, it was absolutely vital that the space shuttle's rockets fired at specific times.

Apollo Reaction Control Rocket Engine (£21,960)
Apollo Reaction Control Rocket

Whether or not the rockets worked at the right times was in the back Neil Armstrong's and every other space explorer's mind during the missions - this timing was imperative to their getting back alive.

This 100-pound rocket engine was one of sixteen, clustered in groups of four, used for attitude control for both the Apollo Command Modules and the Lunar Modules in various missions.

Manufactured by the Marquardt Corporation, the rocket sold at Bonhams in July, shooting way past its higher estimate of £15,000 to sell for £21,960.

Bronze medal - The 1937 World Waterspeed commemorative silver trophy (£24,888)

Even if you haven't broken any speed records, why not feel like you have with the ultimate trophy on your mantlepiece?

This silver award was presented to Sir Malcolm Campbell by Lord Wakefield in 1937 (the latter being the principal Director of the Castrol oil company, and a key endorser of Campbell).

Campbell's Water Speed Record was achieved in the specially-designed hydroplane, K3, breaking the existing record on Lake Maggiore in Switzerland with a final run of 129.5mph. The following year, on the Hallwier See, Campbell raised the record again to 130.91mph.

This silver trophy, modelled on K3, sold for £24,888 at auction in June of this year.


Sir Malcolm Campbell's 1937 World Waterspeed trophy

Silver medal - The world's 'fastest' collectible Rolex wristwatch (£48,000)

Also in June, Bonhams sold a vintage men's Rolex wristwatch worn by none-other than water speed record breaker Norman Hughes Buckley (1908-1974) during his various record attempts.

Amazingly, the watch shows very few signs of wear, retaining its original dial and being in excellent condition - "a testament to the qualities of a Rolex chronograph" we reported at the time.

Buckley set his first World Water one-hour-unlimited speed record in 1956, achieving an average speed of 79.66mph in Miss Windermere III, a hydroplane built to his own design and powered by a 3.8 litre engine.


Norman Hughes Buckley's World Record Rolex Chronograph

He went on to break a further five records including the flying kilometre at 120.63mph during the 1960s in Miss Windermere IV. In 1972, he was awarded the MBE in 1972 in recognition of his record breaking services.

Estimated to bring £25,000-35,000, the chronograph eventually sold for £48,000, including buyer's premium.

Paul Fraser Cup Champion - the World land speed record holder, the Honda F1 (£51,000)

We'd like to see Gay outrun this: the legendary 2006 Honda F1, nicknamed Bonneville 400, which famously achieved a top speed of 397kph on the fabled Bonneville Salt flats in the USA.

In doing so, the car set a new world land speed record for a Formula 1 racing car - and the record has remained unchallenged to this day.


The legendary Bonneville 400, now owned by a collector


But the same car had another chance to race to victory, last month... The aerodynamic automobile sped to more-than double its £10,000-20,000 pre-sale estimate on the auction block, bringing £51,000.

 

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