SpeedSpeed
Land speed record
1,223.657 km/h
760.345 mph
- Holder
- Andy Green, ThrustSSC
- Date
How the record evolved
The last record set in each decade, up to the current record (highlighted).
| Year | Record | Holder |
|---|---|---|
| 1,223.657 km/h | Andy Green, ThrustSSC | |
| 1,149.055 km/h | Andy Green, ThrustSSC | |
| 1,020.406 km/h | Richard Noble, Thrust2 | |
| 1,014.656 km/h | Gary Gabelich, Blue Flame | |
| 955.950 km/h | Craig Breedlove, Spirit of America - Sonic 1 | |
| 634.397 km/h | John Cobb, Railton Mobil Special | |
| 595.04 km/h | John Cobb, Railton Special | |
| 372.459 km/h | Henry Segrave, Golden Arrow | |
| 205.44 km/h | Fred Marriott, Stanley Rocket | |
| 105.88 km/h | Camille Jenatzy, CITA No 25 La Jamais Contente |
Put them in order
Sort these records from the oldest to the most recent.
- 1,223.657 km/hAndy Green, ThrustSSC
- 1,014.656 km/hGary Gabelich, Blue Flame
- 105.88 km/hCamille Jenatzy, CITA No 25 La Jamais Contente
- 595.04 km/hJohn Cobb, Railton Special
What to remember
On October 15, 1997, in the Black Rock Desert in the United States, a car broke the sound barrier for the first time. Andy Green, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, was driving ThrustSSC, powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey turbofans. The recorded speed: 1,223.657 km/h (760.343 mph).
The land speed record is measured carefully to cancel out the wind: the figure is an average of two runs, out and back between fixed points, completed within an hour. Under a 1964 agreement, the FIA and the FIM recognise as the absolute record whatever is the highest speed achieved across any of their categories.
In 1899, the record stood at 105.88 km/h, for Camille Jenatzy and La Jamais Contente. It then went through Fred Marriott at 205.44 km/h in 1906, John Cobb at 595.04 km/h in 1939, Craig Breedlove at 955.950 km/h in 1965, Gary Gabelich at 1,014.656 km/h in 1970 and Richard Noble at 1,020.406 km/h in 1983. From 1899 to ThrustSSC, the speed grew by a factor of 11.56.
Related records
Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of land speed records” (revision used 1368331795). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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