Thursday 11th June 1964

During preparations for Le Mans, a 4.8 litre Ford-powered AC Cobra Coupe GT driven by Jack Sears car was clocked at 185mph at 4:30 in the morning on the newly built M1 motorway. Although the motorway was empty at the time the report caused uproar and questions were even asked in the House of Commons. The following year, a 70 mph limit on the M1 was introduced.