Back in the 1930s, a Captain George Eyston decided that he wanted to set a new land speed record. So, he gathered a team of engineers to create the monstrosity known as the Thunderbolt and proceeded to set three land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Weighing almost 6,400 kg, the Thunderbolt’s body was made from aluminium and had a blunt, heavyset profile topped with a large triangular tailfin. Commonly described as the ‘behemoth’ or ‘leviathan’, the Thunderbolt is twice the weight of its competitors.
Powering the Thunderbolt was a pair of Rolls-Royce R supercharged 37-litre, V-12 aero engines. Each engine produces well over 2,000 horsepower.
Only 19 of these engines were ever made and the engines powering the Thunderbolt were previously used in the Supermarine S6.B seaplane that won the Schneider Trophy.
With this setup, Eyston went on to set three land speed records, the third and final record was set at 357.497 mph (575.34 km/h) and it stood for 341 days before it was broken by Eyston’s rival, John Cob.
It is the link with that inspired designers to create the Landspeed Collection. Only 35 examples of the were created. One of which made it to Malaysia allowing us to get up close and personal with the car.
Almost every part of the Wraith Landspeed Collection pays homage to Eyston’s achievement in 1938.
The perforated line running down the centre of the seats to the tip of the steering wheel represents the 10-mile (16 km) ‘track’ that was drawn in the Bonneville Salt Flats to guide Eyston’s way. While the clock design was based on instrument dials of the Thunderbolt.
Meanwhile, the dashboard has been designed to recreate the tiny fissures of the Bonneville Salt Flats. RR Designers have also made sure to carve Eyston’s three achievements into the console lid as a reminder to the passengers.
Meanwhile, the door panel and transmission tunnel are designed to represent the club armchair that Eyston famously favours and was a requirement of his when designing the Thunderbolt.
Designers have also added an Easter Egg on the door panel to pay homage to the three significant honours that Eyston received in his lifetime. Eyston was awarded the Military Cross while serving in the Great War; a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian decoration, and the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
And of course, designers would not have missed out on creating a phenomenal headliner for the Wraith Landspeed Collection. The Starlight Headliner perfectly recreates the heavens as they appeared over the Flats on 16 September 1938, the date Eyston set his third and final world land-speed record.
Although the original Thunderbolt had been left unpainted, the Wraith Landspeed Collection is finished in dual-tone black and a bespoke colour known as Bonneville Blue, a hue specially developed to imitate the colour the Thunderbolt reflected while under the vast sky of the Flats.
The bright yellow accents on the bumper inserts and within the door panels of the car pay homage to the yellow circle that Eyston had engineers paint onto the Thunderbolt to make it easier for photo-electric timing equipment to capture the achievement.
As mentioned, only 35 of the Rolls Royce Wraith Landspeed Collection was sold to one lucky Malaysian at an undisclosed price.
Keyword: One of 35 in the world, this Rolls Royce Wraith Landspeed Collection is sold to one lucky Malaysian for an undisclosed price