SUNBEAM BLUE BIRD - MALCOLM CAMPBELL

Sunbeams 350 horsepoweer aircraft engined land speed record car.

 

 

Between 1922-4 Brooklands racer Captain Malcolm Campbell began his long association with the Land Speed Record.  Captain Campbell borrowed the Sunbeam in 1923 to compete in the Saltburn Speed Trials, when he achieved a speed of 138mph/222.09kph. This was after the car had broken the records at Brooklands in May of 1922, when Kenelm Lee Guinness drove it on the track at 135.75 mph.

 

Campbell purchased and modified the 350hp car, painted it in his favourite shade of blue and named it 'Blue Bird' after his Brooklands racing cars.

 

 

 

The Sunbeam Blue Bird of Malcolm Campbell was a 350hp aircraft engined car, already with a significant racing pedigree.



The Sunbeam 350HP is an aero-engined car built by the Sunbeam company in 1922, the first of several land speed record breaking cars with aircraft engines.

 

It was designed by Louis Coatalen and built in 1920 with drum brakes on the rear only. Campbell has the engine modified and added a streamlined nose cowl and pointed tail in 1924 - before Malcolm got his first official record with the car at Pendine Sands in Wales, on 25th September, 1924. On the Pendine Sands in South Wales Campbell raised the record twice to 146.163 and then 150.766mph.

Immediately after this success Malcolm put the car up for sale for Ł1,500 but then withdrew, deciding to spend some additional time with it, when he learned that Parry Thomas was about to make a serious attempt with the ex-Zborowski re-bodied Higham Special which Thomas had renamed Babs. 

 

Campbell returned to Pendine in mid July of 1925 and so on the 21st July raised the record to 150.76 mph, becoming the first driver in the world to exceed 150 mph. To commemorate this he had some large scale models of the Sunbeam built, at least two of which are known to have survived.

 

 

 

Sunbeam Manitou 350hp aircraft engine

 

Under the bonnet: the Sunbeam Manitou 350hp aircraft engine nicely restored by staff at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

 



The car was fitted with a purpose built 18.3-litre V12 engine based on a hybrid of the Sunbeam Manitou V-12 18,332cc unit and Sunbeam Arab aero engines. This engine had four blocks of three cylinders arranged in two banks set at 60 degrees (unlike the Arab which were set at 90 degrees). Each cylinder had one inlet and two exhaust valves actuated by a single overhead camshaft. The two camshafts were driven by a complex set of 16 gears from the front of the crankshaft - a very similar arrangement to that used on the Maori engine which had two OHC per bank of cylinders. A 4-speed transmission initially drove a back axle with differential with a shaft drive rather than the hazardous chains of other cars. 

 

Harry Hawker drove the car in 1920 at Brooklands and had initial problems controlling it - spinning off the circuit. The Differential was replaced with a simple crown wheel and pinion so that the rear wheels were locked together and it was more successful in the hands of Kenelm Lee Guinness. Brakes were crude, as was usual in the period, with a foot brake acting on the transmission and hand brake on the rear drums. Thus, only the rear wheels were braked. Suspension was also typical, with half-elliptic springs all round damped by Andre Hartford friction shock absorbers.

 

 

 

The Sunbeam 350hp car at Brooklands, prior to purchase by Malcolm Campbell

 


SUNBEAM 350hp RACING CAREER

The 350HP was first raced at Brooklands in 1920 by Harry Hawker. In October Rene Thomas set a new record at the Gaillon hill climb.

In May 1922 Kenelm Lee Guinness set three records with it: the Brooklands lap record at 123.30 mph (198.43 km/h), then the land speed record over a mile at 129.17 mph (207.88 km/h) and over a kilometre at 133.75 mph (215.25 km/h) – this was the last land speed record to be set on the Brooklands track.

 

 

Date Location Driver Driver Country Vehicle Power Speed over
1 Km
Speed over
1 Mile
Comments
. . . . . . . . .
May 17 1922 Brooklands, Great Britain Kenelm Lee Guinness Great Britain 350hp Sunbeam IC 133.70 mph (215.17 km/h) 129.17 mph (207.88 km/h) Last record set on a closed course
June 23 1922 Fanoe Sir Malcolm Campbell   Sunbeam Bluebird
60 degree V-12 350hp
IC 137.720 mph   Speed not recognized as AIACR  did not approve timing gear 
September 25 1924 Pendine Sands, Wales Sir Malcolm Campbell Great Britain 350hp Sunbeam
V-12
IC 146.15 mph (235.21 km/h) 146.16 mph (235.22 km/h)  
July 21 1925 Pendine Sands, Wales Sir Malcolm Campbell Great Britain 350hp Sunbeam Blue Bird V-12 IC 150.86 mph (242.79 km/h) 150.76 mph (242.62 km/h) First person (officially) to exceed and set record over 150 mph

 


BLUE BIRD

Malcolm Campbell drove the borrowed car at the Saltburn Speed Trials on 17 June 1922 and broke his first speed record at 138.08 mph (222.22 km/h). However the manual stopwatch timing system was not accepted for an official record.

Campbell persuaded Coatalen to sell the Sunbeam to him, painted it blue and renamed it 'Blue Bird', already the fourth Blue Bird. 23 June 1923 saw Campbell at Fanř, Denmark, recording another record-breaking speed of 137.72 mph (221.64 km/h) over the flying kilometre. This time the record was not officially accepted as the timing equipment was not of the approved type. 

 

Realising the limitations of the Sunbeam, Campbell set about producing an all-new Bluebird built around a 12 cylinder Napier Lion aero engine, with the aid of Reid Railton. In this car he raised the Land Speed Record to 174.883mph on 4th February 1927.

 

 

 

 

RIVAL SPEEDSTER

 

One of Cambell's great rivals was Major Henry Segrave. On 29th March 1927 he smashed the 200mph barrier with a new record of 203.793mph set on Daytona Beach in his 1000hp Sunbeam. Campbell knew immediately that to beat this record he would have to redesign Bluebird yet again. Using a modified version of the Lion Engine prepared for the Schneider Trophy air race and a completely new wind tunnel tested body, the car was ready by the start of 1928 and was shipped to Daytona. On 19th February, Campbell set another new record at 206.956mph. See the links below.

 

 

 

Sir Malcolm was not a practical mechanic, nor a designer, though he was to some extent a visionary. Consequently, he relied upon (consultant) designers and a bevy of mechanics to advise upon and service his racing vehicles. His son Donald was similar in this respect, as is Sir Malcolm's grandson, Don Wales. Donald Campbell carried with him more crew, as is apparent from the men crawling all over the CN7 during record attempts.

 

 

Over the winter of 1923–1924 the car was sent to the aircraft maker Boulton Paul at Norwich, for wind tunnel tests. They streamlined the car with a narrow radiator cowl at the nose and a long tapered tail. The rear wheels were also fitted with disk covers. Engine compression was raised by new pistons.

Campbell returned to Fanř in the summer, but the beach was in poor condition and crowd control of the spectators was poor. On the first run both rear tyres were ripped off Blue Bird and narrowly missed the crowd. Campbell protested to the officials about safety standards and declined to take any responsibility for anything else. Sadly, this time a front tyre came off and killed a boy in the crowd.

The car was taken to Pendine Sands in South Wales and saw a more successful result with the first of Campbell's nine records. The record was achieved on 24 September 1924, with a speed of 146.16 mph (235.23 km/h) and an officially sanctioned time. After this he put the car up for sale for Ł1,500, but decided to keep it for a further attempt on hearing that Parry-Thomas was also planning a record attempt with 'Babs'. Blue Bird returned to Pendine in 1925, and on 21 July it raised this record to 150.766 mph (242.628 km/h), the first time a car had exceeded 150 mph (240 km/h). The best run over the mile had reached 152.833 mph (245.961 km/h), a figure that appeared in contemporary motoring adverts for oil and sparkplugs. To commemorate this achievement Campbell had a limited number of models of Blue Bird made.

 

 

http://www.vettriano-art.com/pendine-beach/

 

Vettriano is famous for his paintings of Blue Birds: Pendine Sands

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS

 

Manufacturer

Sunbeam Motor Co. of Wolverhampton

Production

one

Designer

Louis Coatalen

Body and chassis

Body style

Open wheel racing car

Powertrain

Engine

18.3-litre V12 Sunbeam Manitou of 350 hp (260 kW)

Transmission

Hotchkiss 4-speed pre-selector, 

multi-plate clutch

Back Axle

Bevel final drive ratio 1.5:1

Dimensions

Wheelbase

10 ft 7 in (3.2 m), track 4 ft 6 in (1.4 m)

Length

16 ft (4.9 m)

Curb weight

1,550 kg (3,417 lb)

 

 

ENGINE DETAILS


Engine Manufacturer: Sunbeam
Cylinders: V12
Bore: 120mm
Stroke: 135/142mm
Cubic Capacity: 18,322cc
Valves: 2 exhaust, 1 inlet, overhead camshaft
Carburettors: 2 Claudel-Hobson HC7
Max. Power: 355 b.h.p. at 2,300 rpm

 

CHASSIS DETAILS

Chassis: Channel section frame
Suspension: elliptic springs
Shock Absorbers: Hydraulic and Hartford
Brakes: 18 in. diameter drum
Wheels: Rudge-Whitworth wire, 880mm x 120mm

 

 

Jack Vittriano style painting of the Sunbeam Blue Bird

 

A superb representation of Malcolm Campbell admiring his handiwork, having painted the Sunbeam blue in the early hours of the morning.

 

 

 

THE 1920s

 

Following the First World War, the world of motor racing was entranced by racing cars fitted with thunderous aircraft engines. The 350hp Sunbeam is one of the most famous of this group of aero-engined giants.


The 350 horsepower car was the brainchild of Sunbeam’s chief engineer and racing team manager Louis Coatalen and was constructed at the company’s works in Wolverhampton during 1919 and early 1920. The 18 litre Sunbeam engine was a type used on naval seaplanes.

Transmission was via a four speed gearbox and drive shaft, rather then chains. It was fitted with a narrow polished aluminium single seat body with radiator cowl and tail painted in green.

HARRY HAWKER

 

The car’s first outings were plagued with teething troubles (bad luck). The very first race was scheduled to be at the 1920 Whitsun Brooklands meeting driven by Harry Hawker. But, a burst tyre caused it to crash on the Railway Straight during a practice lap. Hawker was uninjured but the car could not be raced that day. 

 

At the Brooklands August meeting a stalled engine meant that the Sunbeam could not start its race.


RENE THOMAS

 

In late 1920 the Sunbeam was taken to the Gaillon Hill Climb in France where René Thomas succeeded in taking the course record with a 108mph/173.81kph run on the 1km hill.


KENELM LEE GUINNESS

 

At the 1921 Brooklands Easter meeting Kenelm Lee Guinness, perhaps one of the few drivers able to get the best from the car, drove the Sunbeam for the first time. In the Lightning Short Handicap second gear was broken but this didn’t stop Guinness driving the car to second place in the Long Handicap event later the same day. 

 

At the Autumn meeting he drove the car in both the Short and Long Handicap races. In the latter event he finished in second place but in doing so achieved speeds of 140mph/225.31kph. Disappointingly, he completed the last lap at an average speed of 116mph/186.68kph.


The Sunbeam continued to perform well in early 1922 despite bursting a tyre at the May Brooklands meeting. On 17 May Guinness was at Brooklands again to make a number of record attempts. These included a flying kilometre speed of 133.75mph/215.25kph which qualified as a new Land Speed Record.

Guinness raced the Sunbeam one more time at Brooklands, in the autumn of 1922.

 

 

 

  

 

Few LSR cars have such a long and distinguished career after their racing days are done. The Sunbeam Blue Bird is seen here in pristine condition at a recent event, promoting Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum as a super display to those bygone days of thunder-cars.

 

 

 

RETIREMENT & DISPLAY

After Campbell, the Sunbeam appears to have returned to circuit racing with wider tyres and a return to the short tail with green paintwork. 

 

As late as 1936, bandleader Billy Cotton recorded 121.57 mph (195.65 km/h) over a kilometre on the beach at Southport.

 

Harold Pratley acquired the car in 1944 and loaned it to Rootes Ltd (successors to the Sunbeam Company) who undertook a cosmetic restoration for promotional purposes.

 

The car may have stayed in Lancashire afterwards, turning up there during World War 2 and then being sold to the Beaulieu collection in 1958.

It is on show today at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, Hampshire. The engine has undergone extensive restoration after suffering severe damage in the 1990s and was run for the first time in 20 years in January 2014.

 

 

 

Sir Malcolm Campbell and Blue Bird 

 

 

ABOVE - Photo portraits of a happy man: Blue Bird happy. BELOW - The exquisite lines of the Blueplanet LSR were inspired by Reid Railton and his classic designs for the Napier Lion and Rolls Royce engined Blue Bird LSR cars in the 1930s, the Blueplanet BE3 features instant battery recharging using the patent Bluebird™ cartridge exchange system under license from BMS. This LSR car is also solar assisted. She is designed for speeds in excess of 350mph using clean electricity and could be run at Daytona Beach, Pendine Sands and other historic venues, including Bonneville. To hire the BE3 for your event, please contact BMS and ask for Leslie or Terry. The project team need at least 6 months notice of venues. The blue bird legend continues.

 

 

Reid Railton inspired Blueplanet BE3

 

 

 

LINKS & REFERENCE

 

Sunbeam_350HP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_350HP

Campbell-Napier-Railton_Blue_Bird

Vettriano Art

http://www.vettriano-art.com/pendine-beach/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell-Napier-Railton_Blue_Bird

Railton_Special

John_Cobb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cobb_%28motorist%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railton_Special

Crusader_speedboat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_%28speedboat%29

Daytona_Beach,_Florida

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_Beach,_Florida

Daytona_Beach_Road_Course

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_Beach_Road_Course

History of the Daytona Beach shore

Bill France, Jr.'s account of races at the track

NASCAR track stats

NASCAR track statistics at racing-reference.info

Account of the 1957 Daytona race from winner cottonowens.com

Lee Bible’s tragic death

Speed TV article on Daytona’s history

Profile of Ormond Beach’s racing history

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Z OF WORLD FAMOUS RACING CIRCUITS

 

Aintree

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet

Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Brazil)

Bahrain International

Barcelona-Catalunya, Circuit de 

Bathurst (Australia)

Brands Hatch

Bremgarten Circuit

Brooklands

Donington Park

Fuji Speedway

Giles Villeneuve

Goodwood

Hockenheimring

Imola

Indianapolis

Knockhill

Korea International Circuit

Laguna Seca (CA, USA)

Le Mans

Mallory Park

Monaco

Monte Carlo

Monza

Nurburgring [Nordschleife] (Germany)

Oulton Park

Rockingham

Santa Pod Raceway

Sebring International Raceway

Shanghai International

Silverstone

Snetterton

Spa Francorchamps (Belgium)

Suzuka Circuit

Thruxton

Zandvoort, Circuit Park

Zeltweg (Austria - Red Bull)

 

 

 

 

The Sunbeam Blue Bird in the land speed record hall of fame at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu around 2005. The display is frequently moved around as the cars are loaned out for various events.

 

 

TAGS

 

Aintree

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet

Autódromo José Carlos Pace

Bahrain International

Barcelona-Catalunya, Circuit de 

Bathurst

Brands Hatch

Bremgarten Circuit

Brooklands

Donington Park

Fuji Speedway

Giles Villeneuve

Goodwood

Hockenheimring

Imola

Indianapolis

Knockhill

Korea International Circuit

Laguna Seca

Le Mans

Mallory Park

Monaco

Monte Carlo

Monza

Nurburgring [Nordschleife] (Germany)

Oulton Park

Rockingham

Santa Pod Raceway

Sebring International Raceway

Shanghai International

Silverstone

Snetterton

Spa Francorchamps

Suzuka Circuit

Thruxton

Zandvoort, Circuit Park

Zeltweg

 

 

The Sunbeam BlueBird at Pendine Sands

 

 

SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL'S BLUE BIRDS


Sunbeam

Napier Lion

Rolls Royce

K3

K4

 

DONALD CAMPBELL'S BLUEBIRDS

 

K7

CN7

CNM8

 

 

           Sunbeam Blue Bird

  

 

Sunbeam 350hp short tail and as the Blue Bird with a long tail and faired in cockpit

 

Bluebird at Pendine Sands, a painting of Sir Malcolm racing

 

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