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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to reveal an exclusive
sketch of the Bespoke Waterspeed Collection, a series of 35 Phantom Drophead
Coupés that seeks to celebrate a seminal act of British daring and endeavour.
On the morning of 1 September 1937, at the height of the
battle between the United States and Great Britain to be the fastest nation on
water, Sir Malcolm Campbell headed out onto the calm blue waters of Lake
Maggiore on the Swiss-Italian frontier. On taking the wheel of his Bluebird K3
hydroplane boat, powered by Rolls-Royce’s R-Type engine, he established his
legend, setting a record of 126.32 mph. The following day he went one better,
piloting his craft to 129.5 mph, in doing so emphatically breaking the United
States’ five-year stranglehold on the world waterspeed record. Campbell’s
momentous achievement captured the world’s attention and reaffirmed the
Rolls-Royce R-Type engines’ record-breaking superiority after triumphs on land
and in the air.