Sir Malcolm Campbell's speed-record-setting machines go on display outside the London theatre where the Bluebird legend was first inspired with his visit to a play 100 years ago. Elly Park reports.
TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: This newsreel clip from 1939 shows how Sir Malcolm Campbell shatters the world water record in his Bluebird K4 powerboat at 141 miles, or 228 kilometers per hour. The similar K3 boat and many other Bluebird vehicles came together for the very first time in London, to celebrate a century of the Campbell family's record breaking efforts. Among them, the Sunbeam car, in which Campbell took his first Land Speed Record in 1924, at 146 miles or 235 kilometers per hour. His granddaughter Gina Campbell says that her grandfather named the first "Bluebird" car after the theater play.
GINA CAMPBELL, SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL'S GRANDDAUGHTER AND WOMEN'S WATER SPEED WORLD RECORD HOLDER: "He thought the story (of the play) was so enchanting and captivating and he hadn't had a lot of luck with his racing cars before that, decided to grab every can of blue paint he could get, mix it all up, paint his racing car blue."
REPORTER: Whether it was the new blue coat or something else, Campbell went on to break world land, water and air records for the next two decades. And his legacy continued with his son Donald, and now his grand, and great grandchildren with more than 20 titles to their name. And with the revelation of the latest electric Bluebird, the family vows to go on for many more years. Elly Park, Reuters.
NOTE
To roughly convert kph to mph, multiply by eight and divide by five. Or type "n kph in mph" in Google for a more accurate answer.
