The ‘Flying Mile’ is a historical high-water mark, a thing of legend. In 1927, Sir Malcolm Campbell drove a modified Bentley—the Napier-Campbell Blue Bird—to a U.K. land speed record of 174.8 mph. That’s faster than most of today’s sports cars, just 41 years after the Daimler Patent-Motorwagen first did it’s three-wheeled crawl.
But now, 88 years after Sir Campbell’s record run (and 129 years after the Patent-Motorwagen for those keeping track), a new Bentley has claimed the Flying Mile record with a speed of 180.361 mph. At the wheel was Idris Elba, an actor known for his role in The Wire and Luther.
The car that set the new record? A Bentley Continental GT Speed.
The run was made on the beach of Pendine Sands, Wales. It was filmed as part of a Discovery Channel miniseries entitled Idris Elba: No Limits. It will air in July.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a Bentley has been involved in a one-off speed record. Perhaps the most impressive was when Juha Kankkunen piloted a Bentley Continental Supersports convertible to a top speed of 205.48 mph—on ice.