Andy Green’s Thrust SSC Speed Monster goes Supersonic on Land

Thrust SSC Andy Green

Most people, when asked “what’s the fastest land vehicle”, will probably answer with “a Lamborghini” or some other supercar. Well that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Since the motor vehicle was first invented, mankind has always strived to attain incredible speeds on land. The would go out to the desert or salt flats with their vehicles, and push them to the most extreme limits. When the jet engine was invented, it allowed pilots to break the sound barrier (Chuck Yeager was the first to do it in 1947). Ever since, people wanted to break the sound barrier on land, and only one man has ever done that.

Jet engines were eventually brought over to cars and land vehicles to achieve incredible rates of speed. These high-speed vehicles can only go in a straight line, and can barley turn. Various versions of a land based, jet propelled vehicle have existed, but it was Andy Green and his Thrust SSC to finally be able to break the sound barrier on land.

Andy Green was an English fighter pilot in the R.A.F. who piloted this insane vehicle. The Thrust SSC was extremely long at 54 feet, and very thin. The vehicle was powered by two Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines. On October 15 in 1997, he and his crew headed to the deserts of Jordan to make the most daring attempt yet. The Thrust SCC had 110,000 bhp, 55,000 lb-ft of torque, and could accelerate from 0-100mph in just four seconds. His crew fueled the vehicle up, and Green went for it.

Green had two runs in the vehicle before they had to stop as it was nearly disintegrating. During those runs, he successfully broke the sound barrier on land and achieved speeds of 763 mph. To this day no one has broken that record, and the Thrust SCC is still the fastest land vehicle to have ever existed.

Photo from Old Concept Cars

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.