Replica of the 1920s Blue Bird land speed record car that clocked 196mph to sell for £300,000
The reproduction version of Malcolm Campbell's record breaking Blue Bird is actually FASTER the the original
A REPLICA of the famous Blue Bird car that broke the land speed record in the 1920s is up for sale for £300,000.
The original hit 196mph in 1927 at the hands of Sir Malcolm Campbell and this modern day recreation is built around the exact same engine.
The only difference is that this new model has been tuned to top 200mph - faster than the original record breaking motor - and has an extra seat to take out passengers for a spin.
The 12ft long replica was the brainchild of Blue Bird enthusiast and vehicle restorer Lorne Jacobs, who inherited the Lion engine from his grandfather Gordon, who bought it in 1930.
With such outrageous performance for an engine nearly 100 years old, it's one of the most powerful vintage motors to ever be sold.
Owner Mr Jacobs always had his eye on the engine and eventually acquired it after his grandfather's death, when he moved it into his workshop at his home in Northolt, Middlesex.
In 2009 Mr Jacobs, who has 35 years experience working on Bentleys and Bugattis, started the project by updating the engine, which was in terrible shape after remaining untouched for so many decades.
Then he got to work on the Napier chassis with a gearbox sourced from other British marques including Austin and Bentley.
He then used pictures of the original Blue Bird to painstakingly hand-form a seven piece steel body.
Mr Jacobs, who spent around five years completing the project, has now decided to cash in on his incredible creation.
An auction house spokesman said: "The Blue Bird is one of the most important motor cars ever created, having broken the land speed record.
"The car offered here is less a replica and more of an homage.
"The emphasis is placed on the fact that the same colossally powerful and very rare engine has been used, which is what makes the Blue Bird car special.
"Any enthusiast of veteran racing or fans of the Blue Bird and Sir Malcolm Campbell's astonishing achievements will be interested in acquiring the car."
During WWI Napier was contracted to build engines for the war effort and the skills their engineers honed during that time eventually led to the Lion - the most powerful engine of its day.
Campbell was the first person to recognise the Lion's potential and installed one in his Blue Bird in 1927 to set a new land speed record.
Fellow adrenaline junky Henry Segrave adopted the engine to help him break the water speed record a year later.
Then in 1947 motorist John Cobb became the first person to travel at over 400mph on land, using a twin Lion engine to achieve the record.
The replica Napier Blue Bird will be sold at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum in Hampshire on September 2.
