Bluebird Electric going for a world record

In 1925 Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE reached a top speed of 235kph in his famous combustion engined Bluebird, but this weekend his grandson Don Wales will attempt to top that speed in an electric vehicle. Wales is already a veteran of nine landspeed records, and on August 13 and 14 he will pilot Bluebird Electric in an attempt to break the UK record. The current world record for an electric vehicle is held by the American Buckeye Bullet car, which broke 516kph to set the bar high. However, Wales’ weekend run is just a shakedown in preparation for a full 2013 world record attempt, which will aim for a top speed of over 800kph. It’s an incredibly high speed to go for, but still somewhat short of ThrustSSC’s supersonic 1,227kph run.