Idris Elba: record-breaking ‘Bentley Boy’

Actor Idris Elba follows in the famous footsteps of Sir Malcolm Campbell, breaking the 88-year-old ‘Flying Mile’ UK land speed record in a Bentley Continental GT Speed.

The star of Luther, The Wire and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom achieved 180.361mph on Pendine Sands, Wales.

He broke the existing record of 174.8mph set by Sir Malcolm nearly in 1927 in his legendary Napier-Campbell ‘Bluebird’.

“I’m absolutely elated to have broken the ‘Flying Mile’ at Pendine Sands,” said Idris.

“It’s an honour to have taken on the challenge, and to successfully follow in the footsteps of the illustrious Sir Malcolm Campbell.”

The record was broken in the Crewe-built Continental during filming for an upcoming four-part Discovery Channel series, Idris Elba: No Limits, which will air in July.

Powered by a 6-litre twin-turbo W12 engine mated to a ZF eight-speed close-ratio automatic transmission, the GT Speed  has a 0-60mph time of 4.0 seconds and a top speed of 206mph.