Cars
The Speed Record Story 7. Beyond the speed of sound
The pursuit of speed and the land speed record has seen many daredevils come and go, with progress in technology and engines constantly pushing the limits of speed.
We have covered the history of those daredevils who dreamed of being the world’s fastest person in a land-based vehicle. Many rejoiced. Others sacrificed their lives for an ephemeral dream. Along the journey, we’ve seen on numerous occasions that the moment a new record was set, someone came along and broke it. Above all, we have witnessed the extraordinary progress of the technologies and the engines used in the pursuit of ultimate speed.
The last car to break the world record with driven wheels – from this point onwards the others had jet engines - was the Bluebird Proteus by Donald Campbell, son of the famous Malcolm who set records both on land and on water
With the Second World War, an era ended: the one that featured driven wheels and internal combustion engines. The arrival of jet engines and even rocket propulsion forever changed the history of post-war records. The last flame of tradition – in 1964 – came in the form of Donald Campbell, Malcom’s son who, just like his father, had been dragged into this eternal land- and water-based contest. Just like his father, he too set records in both disciplines: land and water but died in 1967, at the age of 46, while attempting to exceed the maximum speed on the Bluebird K7 speedboat which, at the time of the accident, was travelling in excess of 480km/h.
