Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 15 October 1997
- ThrustSSC is powered by two turbojet engines originally envisioned for fighter aircraft. These engines were produced by the Rolls-Royce company, for the British version of the F-4 Phantom II. The engines have a combined strength of 110,000 hp.
The world speed record for ground vehicles was set on this day in 1997.
It was also the first time in history that a ground vehicle broke the sound barrier (Mach 1). The vehicle in question was called the ThrustSSC, where SSC stands for “Super Sonic Car”.
ThrustSSC is powered by two turbojet engines originally envisioned for fighter aircraft. These engines were produced by the Rolls-Royce company, for the British version of the F-4 Phantom II. The engines have a combined strength of 110,000 hp.
On this day, ThrustSSC achieved a speed of 1,227.986 kilometers per hour, thus setting the current world record. The vehicle was driven by RAF pilot Andy Green, who had the rank of Wing Commander.
ThrustSSC was a British project, led by Scottish entrepreneur Richard Noble. He also designed the vehicles Thrust1 and Thrust2, both of whom had jet engines.
Thrust2 was in fact the world speed record holder from 1983 to 1997. The British are currently developing an even faster vehicle – the Bloodhound SSC – which will allegedly be capable of reaching speeds of over 1,600 km/h.
The Bloodhound SSC will be powered by jet engines originally intended for the Eurofighter airplane, in addition to a rocket engine and an auxiliary V8 Formula 1 engine.
