Karmann Get It!

Norm Hardinge sets a Bonneville record in an air-cooled VW.

- Boris Viskovic

THE irony is not lost on us that Norm Hardinge – the man best known for supplying radiators through his Aussie Desert Cooler business – has gone and set a Bonneville land speed record in a car that doesn’t have a radiator! Yes, we do know they still have oil coolers, but it’s still pretty funny.

The car Norm drove into the record books was the Karmann Ghia of Chris Mursick, a bloke out of Okanogan, Washington that Norm met at this year’s DLRA Speed Week at Lake Gairdner. Chris was part of the team that included Keith Turk and Hot Rod’s Dave Freiburger, who brought along three Camaros to race on the Aussie salt. Norm and Chris hit it off and formed an instant friendship.

At this point you might assume that Norm kept in touch with Chris in the months leading up to Speed Week at Bonneville. You know – sharing information, checking licensing requirements, getting all the safety gear organised, discussing the intricacies of the vehicle and how it may differ from the ’34 roadster that Norm is used to driving. Yeah, nah.