The ThrustSSC, Thrust SuperSonic Car, is a British jet car driven by RAF pilot Andy Green that achieved a speed of 763 mph on 15 October 1997, becoming the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier. The ThrustSSC, looking like an SR-71 Blackbird on wheels, weighed 10 tons and was powered by two afterburning Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines, as used in the British version of the F-4 Phantom II jet fighter.
Several teams had been competing to break the the 24-year old record, including the Bloodhound LSR project, launched in 2008, and the North American Eagle Project, launched in 2004.
Due to lack of funds and effects of the pandemic, the Bloodhound LSR was abandoned in 2020 after achieving a final top speed of 628 mph on 1/06/2019.
The North American Eagle was a jet powered car and a collaboration between Canadian and US engineers. In 2013, they had hoped to reach 800 mph. The NA Eagle crashed in the Alvord desert, OR, August 27, 2019 killing driver Jessi Combs who did set a world land-speed record for a woman at 522.783 mph. The project was abandoned in 2020.
Auto Speed Milestones
Note: The last wheel-driven car to set a speed record was the gas turbine-powered Bluebird-Proteus CN7 driven by Donald Campbell who achieved a land speed of 403.1 mph at Lake Eyre in Australia on 17 July 1964. This was superceded by Craig Breedlove's record of 401 mph a year earlier.
Several teams had been competing to break the the 24-year old record, including the Bloodhound LSR project, launched in 2008, and the North American Eagle Project, launched in 2004.
Due to lack of funds and effects of the pandemic, the Bloodhound LSR was abandoned in 2020 after achieving a final top speed of 628 mph on 1/06/2019.
The North American Eagle was a jet powered car and a collaboration between Canadian and US engineers. In 2013, they had hoped to reach 800 mph. The NA Eagle crashed in the Alvord desert, OR, August 27, 2019 killing driver Jessi Combs who did set a world land-speed record for a woman at 522.783 mph. The project was abandoned in 2020.
Auto Speed Milestones
Note: The last wheel-driven car to set a speed record was the gas turbine-powered Bluebird-Proteus CN7 driven by Donald Campbell who achieved a land speed of 403.1 mph at Lake Eyre in Australia on 17 July 1964. This was superceded by Craig Breedlove's record of 401 mph a year earlier.
Last edited:
