Aside from being one of the straight-up most swathe, dashing, charming men on the face of the planet – the type of man you can look at pictures of and say “I bet he smells AMAZING” – Idris Elba has a fairly thick motoring enthusiast string on his bow.
The tenured actor – star of such highly acclaimed fare as The Wire, Luther and Pacific Rim (and if there’s any justice in this world, he’ll be James Bond at some point) – is in the middle of shooting a lifestyle/documentary series for the Discovery Channel that goes by the title of “Idris Elba: No Limits,” in which he traverses the globe, taking on various racing challenges.
And he’s not throwing himself into it with anything less than 100%, as it turns out.
Whilst filming in Wales, Elba managed to casually smash the 88 year-old British land speed record – known reverently as the “Flying Mile.”
First set way back in 1927 by Sir Malcolm Campbell in his now legendary Napier-Campbell Blue Bird, the mark of 174.8mph (281.3 km/h) across British land has stood the test of time. But Elba, piloting a Bentley Continental GT Speed to a verified top speed of 180.4mph (290.3 km/h) to take the record on a wet and rainy Perdine Sands beach.
Speaking through a press release issued by Bentley, Elba conveyed his pumped-as-shitness on breaking the record.
“I’m absolutely elated to have broken the ‘Flying Mile’ at Pendine Sands. It’s an honour to have taken on the challenge, and to successfully follow in the footsteps of the illustrious Sir Malcolm Campbell.”
Elba’s No Limits series is scheduled to hit Discovery Channel screens this coming July. Your love for him is scheduled to grow exponentially.
Photo: Charles McQuillan via Getty Images.
via Bentley.
