Has any car hit 1,000 mph?

No—no car has reached 1,000 mph to date. The fastest officially recorded speed by a wheeled vehicle is 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), set by the British jet car ThrustSSC in 1997 in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Several modern projects have targeted the 1,000 mph milestone, but as of 2025 none has made a certified attempt at that speed.

The record that still stands

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) land-speed record for cars is held by ThrustSSC, driven by RAF pilot Andy Green on October 15, 1997. Averaging 763.035 mph over two runs within one hour, the car became the first—and so far only—wheeled vehicle to go supersonic, at approximately Mach 1.016. That mark has stood for nearly three decades, underscoring how technically and financially demanding it is to push beyond.

Who is pursuing 1,000 mph?

Several teams have designed or tested vehicles intended to close the gap between the current record and 1,000 mph. Below are the most prominent efforts and where they stand.

• Bloodhound LSR (UK): Targeting 800–1,000 mph with a Eurojet EJ200 turbofan plus a rocket stage. In 2019, during high-speed tests on South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, the car reached 628 mph (about 1,011 km/h) on jet power alone. Since then, the project has experienced ownership and funding changes; as of 2025, no public high-speed runs beyond 2019 have been conducted, and the rocket phase required for a record attempt has not yet occurred.
• Aussie Invader 5R (Australia): A rocket-powered car led by Rosco McGlashan and designed expressly for the 1,000 mph goal, with planned runs at Lake Gairdner. The team has performed component and static tests but has not reported an official high-speed campaign as of 2025.
• North American Eagle (US): A jet car that aimed to challenge the record but never approached 1,000 mph. The program ended after a fatal 2019 accident that posthumously set a women’s fastest-land-speed record for Jessi Combs at 522.783 mph (841.338 km/h), recognized by the FIA.

Together, these efforts show the breadth of approaches—jet plus rocket hybrids and all-rocket designs—yet highlight the funding, engineering, and logistical hurdles facing any 1,000 mph attempt.

Why 1,000 mph is so difficult

Driving a wheeled vehicle at around Mach 1.3 on natural terrain is a multidomain challenge. The obstacles below illustrate why progress from 763 mph to 1,000 mph is nontrivial.

• Aerodynamics through transonic and supersonic regimes: Shockwave formation, pressure spikes, and shifting centers of pressure demand near-aerospace levels of modeling, wind-tunnel, and computational fluid dynamics validation.
• Stability and control: Maintaining directional stability on imperfect surfaces at supersonic speeds requires precise steering geometry, suspension compliance strategies (often minimal travel), and active control systems, all while managing yaw and crosswind sensitivity.
• Propulsion integration: Hybridizing a high-thrust jet engine with a powerful rocket—or fielding an all-rocket car—complicates fuel/oxidizer logistics, thermal management, and vehicle mass distribution.
• Wheels and ground interface: Pneumatic tires cannot survive these speeds; teams use forged metal wheels optimized for minimal sinkage and controlled ground penetration on desert pans, balancing structural integrity with rolling losses.
• Surface preparation: Record sites like Black Rock Desert and Hakskeen Pan require extensive surveying and grooming to achieve flatness over the measured mile/kilometer and adequate run-up and braking distance.
• Safety and survivability: From canopy and driver restraint systems to high-energy braking (aero, wheel brakes, parachutes), every system must function after prolonged high-speed exposure and extreme heat loads.
• Regulatory constraints: FIA rules mandate two runs in opposite directions within one hour over a measured distance, making reliability and rapid turnaround as critical as peak speed.

These interlocking constraints mean that reaching 1,000 mph is not just a matter of more thrust—it’s an exercise in systems engineering under extreme conditions.

How land-speed records are certified

Under FIA rules, a record is the average speed of two timed runs made in opposite directions over the same course within one hour, typically measured over a mile or kilometer. This cancels wind and gradient advantages and places a premium on repeatable performance and rapid servicing between runs. Vehicles are classified by propulsion and configuration, ensuring apples-to-apples comparisons across attempts.

Outlook for 2025

As of this year, no team has announced confirmed dates for a fully funded, FIA-certified 1,000 mph attempt. Bloodhound LSR remains the most developed platform with proven high-speed test data, but it still needs rocket integration and a funded campaign. Aussie Invader continues to progress as resources permit. Until one of these programs completes a two-way run, ThrustSSC’s 1997 supersonic record remains the benchmark—and 1,000 mph remains a goal rather than a milestone.

Summary

No car has hit 1,000 mph. The standing FIA land-speed record is 763.035 mph, set by ThrustSSC in 1997. Ambitious programs such as Bloodhound LSR and Aussie Invader are designed to push beyond, but funding, engineering complexity, and certification requirements have so far kept 1,000 mph out of reach.

Was ThrustSSC street legal?

The ThrustSSC (SuperSonic Car) is a specially built jet -powered vehicle by a British team led by Richard Noble, Jeremy Bliss, Ron Ayers, and Glynne Bowsher. It’s not a production or street car—it’s a land‑speed record vehicle designed solely for breaking speed limits, not conforming to road regulations.

Has any car hit 700 mph?

Thrust SSC holds the world land speed record, set on 15 October 1997, and piloted by Andy Green, when it achieved a speed of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) and it became the first and only land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier.

What’s the highest speed a car has ever reached?

763mph
The fastest anyone has gone in any car is 763mph, which was done by Andy Green in the land-speed-record-breaking Thrust SSC jet-powered car – though that is about as far away from a production car as it’s possible to get.

Is there a vehicle that goes 1000 mph?

In France. And I love this it was only 3 years after the first ever car was invented the car was actually powered by an electric motor. And completed a flying kilometer.