Has a car ever gone 1000 mph?

No. As of 2025, no car has reached 1000 mph (1,609 km/h) on land. The outright land-speed record remains 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), set by the jet-powered ThrustSSC in 1997. Several programs have aimed for 1000 mph—including the UK-based Bloodhound project and Australia’s Aussie Invader—but none has achieved or officially attempted that speed to date.

The fastest car to date: ThrustSSC (1997)

On October 15, 1997, RAF pilot Andy Green drove ThrustSSC to an average of 763.035 mph over the measured mile at Black Rock Desert, Nevada, becoming the first and only car to officially break the sound barrier on land. The team, led by Richard Noble, satisfied Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) record rules by making two runs in opposite directions within one hour and taking the average speed. Based on conditions that day, the run was roughly Mach 1.02—supersonic.

How the record was secured

ThrustSSC used twin Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan engines from an F-4 Phantom, producing combined thrust of about 223 kN. Its slender, twin-fin design managed shockwaves and stability in the transonic and supersonic regimes, while a carefully prepared desert surface reduced rolling resistance and risk from surface irregularities. Airbrakes, parachutes, and wheel brakes were sequenced to slow the car after each pass.

Who is trying to reach 1000 mph?

Multiple teams have targeted or discussed the 1000 mph benchmark, but all remain short of that goal. Funding, engineering complexity, and the difficulty of preparing suitable desert courses have slowed progress.

The following projects illustrate the current landscape of 1000 mph ambitions and their status:

• Bloodhound LSR (UK): A jet-and-rocket car originally aiming for 1000 mph. In late 2019, with only its Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 jet engine fitted (no rocket), it completed high-speed tests at South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, reaching 628 mph (1,010 km/h). Subsequent plans to add a rocket stage and push beyond 800 mph have been repeatedly delayed by funding challenges. As of 2025, the project has not returned for record-speed runs.
• Aussie Invader 5R (Australia): A rocket-powered car led by Rosco McGlashan, designed with solid-aluminum wheels and a high-thrust engine targeting 1000 mph at Lake Gairdner. The team has conducted engine and systems tests but has not executed a public record attempt or approached record speeds on-course as of 2025.
• North American Eagle (USA): A jet car built from an F-104 fuselage aimed at supersonic speeds. The program ended after the fatal 2019 crash of driver Jessi Combs, who was posthumously recognized by Guinness World Records for the fastest land speed by a woman at 522.783 mph (841.338 km/h).

Together, these efforts show that 1000 mph remains a goal rather than an achievement; the technical path is understood in broad terms, but execution hinges on funding, logistics, and risk management.

Record milestones that define the frontier

Key milestones put the 1000 mph target in context, tracing how speeds have advanced and which records still stand.

• 1964: Donald Campbell’s Bluebird CN7 (wheel-driven) reached 403.10 mph (648.73 km/h) at Lake Eyre, Australia.
• 1983: Richard Noble’s Thrust2 set a new outright record at 633.468 mph (1,019.47 km/h) at Black Rock Desert, USA.
• 1997: ThrustSSC (Andy Green) became the first supersonic car at 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), Black Rock Desert, USA.
• 2018 (wheel-driven): Team Vesco’s Turbinator II recorded 503.332 mph (809.469 km/h) at Bonneville, the fastest wheel-driven car to date.
• 2019 (testing): Bloodhound LSR achieved 628 mph (1,010 km/h) at Hakskeen Pan, South Africa—well short of a record but the fastest open testing run in decades.

These benchmarks underscore how rare major jumps have become: breaking 700 mph took cutting-edge propulsion and aerodynamics, and bridging the gap to 1000 mph demands a further order of difficulty.

What makes 1000 mph so hard?

Driving on land at 1000 mph is not a simple matter of adding thrust. Stability, surface conditions, and deceleration become exponentially more complex in the transonic and supersonic regimes.

• Aerodynamics: Shockwaves migrate across the vehicle as it nears and passes Mach 1, threatening lift, yaw, and loss of control. Managing underbody flow to prevent “aerodynamic takeoff” is critical.
• Propulsion: Jet-and-rocket hybrids must deliver sustained thrust while maintaining controllability and fuel/oxidizer management across a short, bumpy “runway” of compacted desert.
• Ground interaction: At extreme speeds, even millimeter-scale surface irregularities can trigger severe vertical or lateral loads. Preparing a flat, clean, multi-mile track is a massive logistical project.
• Wheels and tires: Rubber is impossible at these speeds; teams use machined metal wheels that must survive colossal centrifugal forces and grit erosion while maintaining directional stability.
• Braking: Stopping from 800–1000 mph requires a carefully staged sequence: throttle-down and aerodynamic drag, deployable airbrakes, high- and low-speed parachutes, then wheels brakes—each phase with narrow timing margins.
• Safety and data: Real-time telemetry, redundant systems, and rigorous abort protocols are essential. Margins for error shrink dramatically near and above Mach 1.
• Funding and logistics: Multi-year budgets, specialized engineering, and international permitting are as decisive as the technology.

These challenges are solvable in principle but demand resources and risk tolerance on par with ambitious aerospace projects.

What counts as “a car” in record terms?

Under FIA rules for absolute land-speed records, vehicles must have at least four wheels and carry a human driver; they are timed over a measured mile or kilometer, making two runs in opposite directions within one hour, with the average speed counting as the record. Jet and rocket propulsion are permitted for the outright record. Wheel-driven records are tracked separately, with Team Vesco’s Turbinator II holding the fastest wheel-driven mark above 500 mph. The 1000 mph target, however, is firmly in the jet/rocket domain.

Outlook

The 1000 mph mark remains open. Technically, hybrid jet–rocket approaches and metal wheel designs offer a credible path. Practically, the schedule hinges on sustained funding and the availability of long, smooth desert surfaces like South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan or Australia’s Lake Gairdner. Until a team returns to the desert with a fully integrated propulsion and braking package—and the budget to repeat runs to FIA standards—the four-digit milestone will remain aspirational.

Summary

No car has reached 1000 mph on land. The standing record is 763.035 mph by ThrustSSC (1997), the only car to go supersonic officially. Programs such as Bloodhound LSR and Aussie Invader continue to target 1000 mph, but as of 2025 none has made an official attempt at that speed. The barrier is less about imagination than execution: extreme aerodynamics, propulsion, ground preparation, braking, safety, and funding all must align for a successful, verifiable record.