Airship California Arrow, 1905

A year after the Wright brothers made their first flight, T S Baldwin engaged Glenn Curtiss to design and build a lightweight engine for his dirigible. He used the combination to beat a Pope Toledo (the fastest car on the west coast at the time) in a race from Chutes Park, Los Angeles to Pasadena. 
He later sold the California Arrow to the US Government, this being their first aircraft purchase.