As an actor, Idris Elba never seems to slow down, appearing in three to four films and TV series every year. But now, thanks to his need for speed, the Golden Globe award winner and star of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, The Wire, and Luther has added some new hardware to his shelf.
Earlier this week, Elba broke the British land speed record, known as the ‘Flying Mile’ in a Bentley Continental GT Speed by running an average speed of 180.361 miles per hour on Pendine Sands on the Bristol Channel in Wales.
One of our favorite high-performance coupes, the Bentley GT Speed was the perfect choice for this run thanks to its W12 engine which makes 626 horsepower and reaches a top speed of 206 miles per hour.
Breaking the 90-year old record of 174.224 m.p.h. set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in his purpose-built Napier-Campbell Blue Bird, Elba was understandably excited, “I’m absolutely elated to have broken the ‘Flying Mile’ at Pendine Sands. It’s an honor to have taken on the challenge, and to successfully follow in the footsteps of the illustrious Sir Malcolm Campbell.”
Elba set the record in the Bentley during filming for an upcoming four-part Discovery Channel series, Idris Elba: No Limits, which will air in July.
