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ThrustSSC (SuperSonic Car) is a British designed and built jet propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss, which holds the world land speed record, set on October 15, 1997, when it reached a speed of 1,227 km/h (763 mph) and became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier.

The car was driven by Wing Commander Andy Green in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada USA. It was powered by two afterburning Rolls-Royce Spey engines as used in British F-4 Phantom II jet fighters. It is 54 ft (16.5 m) long, 12 ft (3.7 m) wide and weighs 10.5 tons.

After the record was set, the World Motor Sport Council released the following message:

The World Motor Sport Council homologated the new world land speed records set by the team ThrustSSC of Richard Noble, driver Andy Green, on 15 October 1997 at Black Rock Desert, Nevada (USA). This is the first time in history that a land vehicle has exceeded the speed of sound. The new records are as follows:

• Flying mile           1227.985 km/h (763.035 mph)
• Flying kilometre   1223.657 km/h (760.343 mph)

In setting the record, the sound barrier was broken in both the north and south runs.

Paris, 11 November 1997.

In 1983 Richard Noble had broken the world land speed record with his earlier car Thrust2, which reached a speed of 1,018 km/h (633 mph). Both ThrustSSC and Thrust2 are displayed at the Coventry Transport Museum in Coventry, England.

See also

North American Eagle

External links

• Official Thrust SSC website (no longer being updated).
• Photo-Diary by John Coppinger - including an aerial photo by Richard Meredith-Hardy showing the shockwave as ThrustSSC exceeds the speed of sound.
• ThrustSSC the car and the run

• Land speed record