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ThrustSSC

FIA flying-mile outright record of 763.035 mph, Andy Green, Black Rock Desert, 15 October 1997. The first supersonic mark, Mach 1.016.

Also known as Thrust SSC
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Absolute speed

Published as 763.035 mphPublished as 763.035 mphPublished as 763.035 mphPublished as 763.035 mph

FIA flying-mile outright record, the same 763.035 mph the land-speed record uses. Copied so the human-built hub can sort it. Not a second run, and not a production-car figure.

OfficialFIA (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • London to New York in 4 h 32 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle
  • 12× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • 3.7 football fields a secondConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

This list

Why it's so fast

A car is fast when the force pushing it forward still beats the air, and when the tires and the gearing can use that force. A limiter is a different fact from an unlimited run.

  1. Drag and gearing

    Top speed is the balance point: thrust equals aerodynamic drag. The gearing has to still be pulling when the car gets there, or the engine falls off its power.

  2. What the sources signed

    A manufacturer claim, a magazine test and an electronic governor are not interchangeable. The measurement line says which one this page ranked.

A limited example is the Bugatti Chiron.

This is how the category works. A note written for this entry appears here once it is in the database.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 1,228km/h763.035mph341m/s663knMach1.00

    Top speed. FIA flying-mile outright record, two-way average, Black Rock Desert, USA, Andy Green. The FIA also states 1227.985 km/h and Mach 1.016 for this mark. A same-day kilometre record of 760.343 mph is a different distance and is not stored here.

    Official
    FIA (opens source in a new tab)
  2. 1,228km/h763.035mph341m/s663knMach1.00Ranked figure

    Absolute speed. FIA flying-mile outright record, the same 763.035 mph the land-speed record uses. Copied so the human-built hub can sort it. Not a second run, and not a production-car figure.

    The car list leaves this mark unranked. The hub uses absolute speed.

    Official
    FIA (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Driver
Andy Green
Venue
Black Rock Desert, USA
Record
FIA flying mile

Record books

Records

  • Holds the land speed record 1997–present

    Stood 28 years, 11 months

    1,228km/h763.035mph341m/s663knMach1.00

Head to head

Compare ThrustSSC

Open the speed race

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.