Why 'K4'?
Having been asked so many times, 'why K4?', we thought as much as we like telling the story, we'd add a summary...
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The Client
Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948)
Sir Malcolm was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Bluebird, including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam. His son, Donald Campbell, carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records.
The Idea
Hydroplane evolution
The K4 Bluebird design was conceived by thinking out of the box. Evolving the single-step hydroplane concept of his previous boat K3, Sir Malcolm Campbell grew the hull design to a multistep hydroplane giving the boat more lift, allowing the all-important horsepower to propel the boat with less drag.
The Result
Record achieved
Supporting the Lloyds infinity symbol for vessel at that time unclassified to cover unique designs, The K4 Bluebird was launched in 1939 and on 19th August achieved 141.74mph on Coniston Water, England.
After a brief pause in the project due to World War II in Sir Malcolm refocused his efforts on the record and re-engined K4 with a De Havilland Goblin II turbojet engine and Vosper substantially modified the hull.
Most yacht and specialist vessel owners are by their nature, out of the box thinkers, doing something different to get where they are today. At K4, our goal is to help such out of the box thinkers to evolve and develop their plans and visions, to achieve what they previously may have thought impossible in the marine arena both on and under the water, and fulfill the experiences they may not have even thought was possible.