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Andy Green Drives 719 mph, Unofficially Breaking Land Speed Record

24 September 1997

Richard Noble stood by in the Black Rock Desert as Andy Green clocked 719.37 mph in Noble's jet-powered Thrust SSC. Green drove so fast that when his dual parachutes did not open at the finish line, he had to stand on the brakes to slow down, heating them to about 1,472 degrees Farenheit and cruising 1.4 miles past the end of the 13 mile course.

Although the current land speed record, set by Noble 14 years ago, is only 633.47 mph, Green's run did not officially break it. To do so, a driver must complete two runs in opposite directions within one hour, averaging little over 640 mph. Green's parachute failure put him out of the contest, although he can still claim to be the first man to drive over 700 mph.

Reflecting on the day, Green said he was pleased: "the brakes are still operating well. The double chute failure is no big deal. I'm not worried about it."

Richard Noble was also pleased with the run, as it put his car within about 40 mph of the team's ultimate goal. The SSC in the car name Thrust SSC stands for "super sonic car": Noble and Green want to break the sound barrier. Mach 1 at the 4,000 foot altitude of the Black Rock Desert will be somewhere between 750 and 760 mph; Noble has said the team won't go home until they get there. Andy Green concurred: "We didn't come here to set a record, we came here to go supersonic."

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel