Nation of Speed recounts our desire to become the fastest on land, sea, air, and space in the pursuit of commerce, power, and prestige.

Featuring iconic vehicles from Mario Andretti’s Indy 500 winning race car to the Sharp DR 90 Nemesis, Nation of Speed paints a portrait of human ingenuity — the technology developed to propel people faster and faster— and explores how the pursuit of speed has shaped American culture and our national identity.

Nation of Speed is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

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Location in Museum

National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Gallery 203
Map of the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum's Washington, D.C., building, highlighting in yellow a gallery on the north side of the building, three galleries west of center.
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Take a Look Inside the Gallery

An overhead view of the Nation of Speed gallery. A Corvette and two suspended aircraft are visible.

An overhead view of the gallery.

A photo of the inside of the Nation of Speed exhibit. A sign that says Nation of Speed hangs in the top right corner and across from it is Roscoe Turners airplane. A case with side signs that say speed limit 80 and speed limit enforced by aircraft is in the foreground.

The exhibit features iconic objects from the history of speed.

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Speed Air Racing

In this Exhibit

Sharp DR 90 Nemesis

Object

Rocket Sled, Sonic Wind I

Object

Turner RT-14 Meteor

Object

Gilmore the Flying Lion

Object

T-Shirt, Section 3

Object

Motorcycle, Curtiss V-8

Object
See more objects in this exhibit
Five Connections Between the Need for Speed in the Air and on the Ground Speed and the Cold War Roscoe Turner and Gilmore the Flying Lion The Fastest Man on Earth The Man Behind High-Speed Safety Standards

The Museum gratefully acknowledges those who have generously supported this gallery.

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