On this day in auto history – February 4th

Thu 4th Feb 2021

On this day in 1927, Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new land-speed record at Pendine Sands, south Wales.

Having twice failed to break the record, Campbell finally achieved the feat by driving a British-built Napier Aero-engined Bluebird at 174.8 mph.

Eight years later he was to become the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph before dying in 1948 at the age of 63.

Though Campbell was one of the few land-speed record holders of the age to die of natural causes, his son, Donald - also later a land-speed record holder - famously died attempting to break the water-speed record at Coniston Water in 1967.