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What Car Broke the Sound Barrier? Meet Thrust SSC

Driven by Andy Green, Thrust SSC became the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier and set an FIA flying-mile record of 763.035 mph in 1997.
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Thrust SSC was the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier. Driven by Andy Green, it reached an FIA-listed flying-mile average of 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h) at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, on 15 October 1997.

What car broke the sound barrier?

It was Thrust SSC, a British jet-powered land-speed car. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers identifies it as the first land vehicle to officially exceed the speed of sound, and the FIA’s record list marks the sound barrier as reached for its flying-mile record.

The record speed was an average over a measured flying mile, not a single instantaneous peak. The FIA lists 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), with Andy Green as driver, Black Rock Desert as the venue, and 15 October 1997 as the date. The FIA’s official list of homologated Category C records is the source for that precise figure.

How fast did Thrust SSC go?

For the official flying-mile result, use the FIA’s figure: 763.035 mph, or 1,227.985 km/h. Other authoritative pages round the same result: Guinness World Records gives 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h) and Mach 1.020, while ASME reports 763.04 mph (1,227.99 km/h) and Mach 1.02. Those rounded values do not indicate a different record.

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Source Reported speed What the figure represents
FIA 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h) Official flying-mile record; Andy Green, Black Rock Desert, 15 October 1997.
Guinness World Records 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), Mach 1.020 Record-entry figures.
ASME 763.04 mph (1,227.99 km/h), Mach 1.02 Rounded figures on its engineering landmark page.

Mach describes speed relative to the local speed of sound, which varies with atmospheric conditions. For that reason, the mph and km/h figures are the clearest way to state the record; the Mach value is a useful description of the milestone, not a universal conversion.

When did it break the sound barrier?

The first exceedance and the record-setting run were separate events. The Thrust SSC project’s update says the car first exceeded the sound barrier on 13 October 1997. The FIA lists the homologated flying-mile record two days later, on 15 October.

That distinction matters: the sound-barrier milestone began with the earlier run, while the later run established the official record speed.

Who drove the car that broke the sound barrier?

Andy Green, an RAF fighter pilot, drove Thrust SSC. Coventry Transport Museum credits Richard Noble, Jeremy Bliss, Ron Ayers, and Glynne Bowsher among the car’s designers and identifies Green as its driver.

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How was Thrust SSC powered?

The car used two Rolls-Royce Spey jet engines. Coventry Transport Museum describes them as turbofans and notes that the type was also used in British F-4 Phantom II fighters. Guinness identifies the engines as Spey 202s and reports a combined thrust figure of 222 kN (50,000 lb); that thrust value is Guinness’s reported specification.

Thrust SSC was therefore not a conventional road car pushed to an extreme. Its jet propulsion and purpose-built design made it a land-speed vehicle created for record attempts.

How large was Thrust SSC?

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers gives the car’s length as 16.5 metres and its mass as 10.5 tonnes. Those figures convey the scale of the vehicle without relying on an imprecise comparison to a familiar car or bus.

Where can you see Thrust SSC?

Coventry Transport Museum says the car is displayed at the museum in Coventry. Its Thrust SSC collection page has information about the vehicle and its place in the collection; check the museum directly for current visitor details.

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