While the exploits of Sir Malcolm Campbell are well documented and widely known, Eyston's achievements using Rolls-Royce engines had been largely overlooked by history.
Now, after more than 80 years, Rolls-Royce is celebrating Eyston's heroic and inspiring exploits of 1930s.
Production of the collection is limited to just 35 units of Wraith Black Badge, and 25 of Dawn Black Badge, all of which have already been allocated to customers.
The collection is presented in a specially created two-tone finish, which marries Black Diamond Metallic with a new Bespoke colour, Bonneville Blue.
The interior details of both cars recall the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where Eyston pursued his record-breaking endeavours in 1937-38.
The Salt Flats’ fissured texture is reproduced in the engraved fascia while the steering-wheel detail mimics the dark track-line marked on the surface during record runs.
The Starlight Headliner, meanwhile, depicts the night sky on Sept 16, 1938, when Eyston set his third and final land speed record of 357.497mph (575.336kph) which stood for 341 days.
The silhouettes of the long-lost Thunderbolt, and its three record-breaking speeds, are laser-engraved on the front tunnel while subtle detail in driver’s-side door reproduces ribbon colours of the honours awarded to Eyston during his lifetime.
The record-setting six-wheeled Thunderbolt was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce R supercharged 37-litre, V-12 aero engines, each producing well over 2,000 horsepower.
Around only 19 of these engines were ever made and they were so rare that Thunderbolt’s engines had a previous career in the Schneider Trophy-winning Supermarine S6.B seaplane that would lay the foundations for the legendary Spitfire.
Meanwhile, the body of the Thunderbolt body was made from aluminium and, in its original form, had a blunt, heavyset profile topped with a large triangular tailfin.
Thunderbolt’s two R engines are preserved at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon and the Science Museum in London but the car itself had been lost in a fire.
After being exhibited at the 1940 Centennial Exhibition in New Zealand, it was placed in storage, but was destroyed in 1946 when 27,000 bales of wool, housed in the same building, caught fire.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Müller-Ötvös said, “Rolls-Royce has been synonymous with adventure, daring and pushing boundaries throughout its history. We are delighted that with the Landspeed Collection, we can add another hitherto unsung hero to the illustrious roll call of pioneers associated with our great marque.
“With his vision, boldness, determination and genius for innovation and invention, George Eyston embodies so much of what makes Rolls-Royce unique. These cars are a fitting and long overdue tribute to a truly inspiring character.”
Eyston received three significant honours - the Military Cross (MC) while serving in the Great War; in 1938, after his record-breaking runs with Thunderbolt he was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian decoration; and in 1948, he received the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
