The Bluebird-Proteus CN7 is a gas turbine-powered vehicle that was driven by Donald Campbell and achieved the world land speed record on Lake Eyre in Australia on 17 July 1964.

In 1956, Campbell began planning a car to break the land speed record, which then stood at 394 mph (634 km/h) set by John Cobb in the Railton Mobil Special.

[2] The Bristol-Siddeley Proteus was the Bristol Aeroplane Company's first successful gas turbine engine design, and delivered 4,450 shp (3,300 kW) with no thrust allowed by the FIA, exhaust was limited to fill in aerodynamic disturbance at the rear.

These shafts are connected directly to final drive assemblies with differentials and fixed ratios of 3.6:1 providing power to all four wheels via half-shafts.

[3] The car weighs 4 tons and was built with an advanced aluminum honeycomb sandwich of immense strength, with a fully independent double wishbone suspension.

In early September, CN7 accelerated from a standing start to just under 400 mph or 640 km/h in 24 seconds covering 1.5 miles, using approximately 80 per cent of the engine's full power.

[2] The LSR attempt however, which was heavily sponsored by BP, Dunlop, and other British motor component companies, was unsuccessful and CN7 was severely damaged during a high-speed crash on 16 September.

His confidence was severely shaken, he was suffering mild panic attacks, and for some time he doubted whether he would ever return to record breaking.

After initial trials at Goodwood and further modifications to the very strong fibreglass cockpit canopy, CN7 was shipped this time to Australia for a new attempt at Lake Eyre in 1963.

Campbell received very bad press following the failure to set a new record, but the weather conditions had made an attempt out of the question.

Campbell commissioned the author John Pearson to chronicle this attempt, with the resultant book Bluebird and the Dead Lake, published by Collins in 1965.

To celebrate the record, Campbell drove CN7 through the streets of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, to a presentation at city hall before a crowd of in excess of 200,000 people.