The Thomas Flyer

Winner of the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race. The route went across the US to San Francisco, across the Pacific (on a ship!) to Japan, then across Russia, more or less along the route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The car was restored by William Harrah in 1964, using input from one of the original crewmembers George Schuster, then in his 90s. Schuster was able to confirm it was the original car by recognizing repairs he'd made on the trip. The race was the very loose historical inspiration for the 1965 comedy _The Great Race_. The victory of the Flyer, the only American entry, spurred the embryonic American automotive industry--and the rest, as they say, is history. The insets show another view and a close-up of the interpretive sign. National Automobile Museum (Harrah Collection), Reno, Nevada.