Louis Rigolly

File:Louis Rigolly Car 1904.jpg

Louis Rigolly in his car which first exceeded 100 mph in 1904

Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, was the first man to drive a car at over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).

He set a record of 103.561 mph (166.665 km/h) on a beach at Ostend in Belgium on 21 July 1904, driving a 13.5 litre Gobron-Brillié racing car. He covered a 1 kilometre course in 21.6 seconds, beating Belgian Pierre de Caters mark of 97.25 mph (156.51 km/h), set the previous May over the same 1 kilometre course in Ostend. The record stood for just three months. Rigolly also participated in early Grand Prix motor racing.

See also

• Land speed record