--- description: The actor clocked an average of 180.4 miles per hour, shattering a previous "flying mile" record in the U.K. title: Idris Elba Proves He Can Drive Like James Bond image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Auto Racing](/tag/auto-racing/) ## Auto Racing Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Idris Elba Proves He Can Drive Like James Bond by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 8, 2015 1:37 AM CUT by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 8, 2015 1:37 AM CUT Actor Idris Elba [broke](http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/autos/idris-elba-bentley-speed-record/index.html "undefined") a nearly 90-year speed record in the U.K. last weekend when he averaged more than 180 miles per hour during a one-mile stretch. The _Luther_ star was in the driver’s seat of a standard Bentley Continental GT Speed on Sunday in Wales, according to CNN Money. His top speed was 186.4 miles per hour during the “flying mile”—in which a driver can get up to speed before the car is clocked at two points, one mile apart—but his average was 180.4 miles per hour. Elba’s run came while shooting the Discovery Channel series _Idris Elba: No Limits_, which will air in July. Elba beat out the last record, set in 1927 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, who hit 174.2 miles in hour. Now imagine the car chase scenes if he ever actually plays James Bond. \[[_CNN_](http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/autos/idris-elba-bentley-speed-record/index.html "undefined")[ _Money_](http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/autos/idris-elba-bentley-speed-record/index.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3851259/idris-elba-bentley-united-kingdom-speed-record/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3851259/idris-elba-bentley-united-kingdom-speed-record/"},"headline":"Idris Elba Proves He Can Drive Like James Bond","datePublished":"2015-05-08T01:37:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:02:24.291Z","description":"The actor broke a 1927 record in the U.K. for the \"flying mile\"","url":"https://time.com/3851259/idris-elba-bentley-united-kingdom-speed-record/","keywords":["Auto Racing","Idris Elba","United Kingdom","racing","bentley"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/auto-racing/","name":"Auto Racing"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3851259/idris-elba-bentley-united-kingdom-speed-record/","name":"Idris Elba Proves He Can Drive Like James Bond"}}]}] ```