The result was Air Ministry specification 26/27, which also encouraged the use of a metal airframe for use overseas and of the abundant Napier Lion engine.
Locke King was spurred on by Selwyn Edge (1868–1940), an experienced racing driver and car dealer, to complete the project with his highly publicised challenge that he would drive the course in a Napier (Lion) single-handedly at a constant 60 mph for 24 hours without a rest break.
No suitable engines were available to give a sufficient advantage over the British Napier Lion, so the simplest possible chassis was constructed and three war-surplus Liberty aero engines were squeezed into it.
The Lion King | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Lion | Charles James Napier | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | The Wind and the Lion | lion | The Lion King (musical) | Napier | Lion Red Cup | Golden Lion | Napier, New Zealand | William Francis Patrick Napier | The Lion in Winter | Henry the Lion | Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala | Food Lion | Napier Lion | Charles Napier | The Lion Sleeps Tonight | sea lion | Robert Napier | Old Red Lion Theatre | Nemean lion | Mick Napier | Gamelan Son of Lion | Cowardly Lion | White Lion | The Lion in Winter (1968 film) | The Adventure of the Lion's Mane |
Initially Napier & Son built engines designed by the Royal Aircraft Factory, but at his own expense Napier subsequently designed his own, the Lion.