Land speed record explained

The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), respective governing bodies for racing in automobiles and motorcycles (two or three wheels), both bodies recognise as the absolute LSR whatever is the highest speed record achieved across any of their various categories. While the three-wheeled Spirit of America set an FIM-validated LSR in 1963, all subsequent LSRs are by vehicles in FIA Category C ("Special Vehicles") in either class JE (jet engine) or class RT (rocket powered).^{[1] [2]}

FIA LSRs are officiated and validated by its regional or national affiliate organizations.^[3] Speed measurement is standardized over a course measuring either or, averaged over two runs with flying start (commonly called "passes")^[4] going in opposite directions within one hour. A new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated.^[5]

History

See also: Railway speed record. Until 1829 the fastest land transport was horses.The first regulator was the Automobile Club de France, which proclaimed itself arbiter of the record in about 1902.^[6]

Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognize the same world records^[7] until 1924, when the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) introduced new regulations: two passes in opposite directions (to negate the effects of wind) averaged with a maximum of 30 minutes (later more) between runs, average gradient of the racing surface not more than 1 percent, timing gear accurate within 0.01sec, and cars must be wheel-driven.^[8] National or regional auto clubs (such as AAA and SCTA) had to be AIACR members to ensure records would be recognized.^[9] The AIACR became the FIA in 1947. Controversy arose in 1963: Spirit of America was not recognized due to its being a three-wheeler (leading the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to certify it as a three-wheel motorcycle record when the FIA refused) and not wheel-driven so the FIA introduced a special jet and rocket propelled class.^[10] No holder of the absolute record since has been wheel-driven.

In the U.S. and Australia, record runs are often done on salt flats, so the cars are often called salt cars.

Women's land speed record

The FIA does not recognize separate men's and women's land speed records, because the records are set using motorized vehicles, and not muscle-powered vehicles, so the gender of the driver does not matter; however, unofficial women's records have long been claimed, seemingly starting with Dorothy Levitt's 1906 record in Blackpool, England, and, unlike the FIA and other car-racing organisations, Guinness World Records does recognize gender-based land speed records.^[11]

In 1906, Dorothy Levitt broke the women's world speed record for the flying kilometer, recording a speed of and receiving the sobriquet the "Fastest Girl on Earth". She drove a six-cylinder Napier motorcar, a development of the K5, in a speed trial in Blackpool.^{[12] [13] [14]}

in 1963, Paula Murphy drove a Studebaker Avanti to at the Bonneville Salt Flats as part of Andy Granatelli's attempt on the overall record. In 1964, she was asked by the tire company Goodyear to try to improve her own record, which she raised to in Walt Arfons's jet dragster Avenger.^[15] The rival tire company Firestone and Art Arfons hit back against Goodyear and Walt Arfons when Betty Skelton drove Art's Cyclops to achieve a two-way average of in September 1965.

Five weeks later, Goodyear hit back against Firestone with Lee Breedlove. While recordkeeping has not been as extensive, a report in 1974 confirmed that a record was held by Lee Breedlove, the wife of then overall record holder Craig Breedlove, who piloted her husband's Spirit of America – Sonic I to a record in 1965. According to author Rachel Kushner, Craig Breedlove had talked Lee into taking the car out for a record attempt in order to monopolize the salt flats for the day and block one of his competitors from making a record attempt.^[16]

In 1976, the women's absolute record was set by Kitty O'Neil, in the jet-powered, three-wheeled SMI Motivator, at the Alvord Desert.^[17] Held back by her contract with a sponsor and using only 60 percent of her car's power, O'Neil reached an average speed of .^{[18] [19]}

On October 9, 2013, driver Jessi Combs, in a vehicle of the North American Eagle Project running at the Alvord Desert, raised the women's four-wheel land speed class record with an official run of, surpassing Breedlove's 48-year-old record.^[20] Combs continued with the North American Eagle Project, whose ongoing target is the overall land speed record; as part of that effort, Combs was killed, on August 27, 2019, during an attempt to raise the four-wheel record.^[21] In late June 2020, the Guinness Book of Records reclassified the August 27, 2019 speed runs as meeting its requirements, and Combs was posthumously credited with the record at, noting she was the first to break the record in 40 years.^[22]

Records

1898–1964 (wheel-driven)

Date	Location	Driver	Vehicle	Power	Speed				Comments
					Over 1 km		Over 1 mile
					(mph)	(km/h)	(mph)	(km/h)
December 18, 1898	Achères, France	Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat	Jeantaud Duc^[23]	Electric	39.24	63.15			^[24] Conducted over from a flying start.^[25]
January 17, 1899	Achères, France	Camille Jenatzy	GCA Dogcart	Electric	41.42	66.66
January 17, 1899	Achères, France	Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat	Jeantaud Duc	Electric	43.93	70.31
January 27, 1899	Achères, France	Camille Jenatzy	GCA Dogcart	Electric	49.93	80.35
March 4, 1899	Achères, France	Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat	Jeantaud Duc Profilée	Electric	57.65	92.78
April 29, 1899	Achères, France	Camille Jenatzy	CITA No 25 La Jamais Contente	Electric	65.79	105.88			First purpose-designed land speed racer^[26] First record over 100kph
April 13, 1902	Nice, France	Léon Serpollet	Gardner-Serpollet Œuf de Pâques (Easter Egg)	Steam	75.06	120.80
August 5, 1902	Ablis, France	William Kissam Vanderbilt II	Mors Z Paris-Vienne	Internal combustion	76.03	122.438			First internal combustion powered record
November 5, 1902	Dourdan, France	Henri Fournier	Mors Z Paris-Vienne	Internal combustion V4, 9.2-litre, 60 bhp	76.59	123.25			^[27]
November 17, 1902	Dourdan, France	Maurice Augières	Mors Z Paris-Vienne	Internal combustion	77.13	124.13
July 17, 1903	Ostend, Belgium	Arthur Duray	Gobron Brillié Paris-Madrid	Internal combustion	83.46	132.32
November 5, 1903	Dourdan, France	Arthur Duray	Gobron Brillié Paris-Madrid	Internal combustion	84.73	136.35
January 12, 1904	New Baltimore, United States	Henry Ford	Ford 999 Racer	Internal combustion			91.37	147.05	^[28]
March 31, 1904	Nice, France	Louis Rigolly	Gobron-Brillié Paris-Madrid	Internal combustion	94.78	152.53
May 25, 1904	Ostend, Belgium	Pierre de Caters	Mercedes Simplex 90	Internal combustion	97.25	156.50
July 21, 1904	Ostend, Belgium	Louis Rigolly	Gobron-Brillié Gordon Bennett	Internal combustion	103.56	166.66			First record over 100mph, 2 months after City of Truro's.
November 13, 1904	Ostend, Belgium	Paul Baras	Darracq Gordon Bennett	Internal combustion	104.53	168.22
December 30, 1905	Arles, France	Victor Hémery	Darracq Special	Internal combustion	109.59	176.37
January 26, 1906	Daytona Beach, United States	Fred Marriott	Stanley Rocket	Steam	127.66	205.44				First record over 2000NaN0. First faster than contemporary rail speed record. Fastest steam-powered land vehicle until 2009.^[29]
November 8, 1909^[30]	Brooklands, United Kingdom	Victor Hémery	Benz No. 1 200 hp (150 kW)	Internal combustion: 21.5liter inline-4 Benz engine	125.94	202.68	115.93	186.57	First run using electronic timing
June 24, 1914	Brooklands, United Kingdom	Lydston Hornsted	Benz No. 3 200 hp (150 kW)	Internal combustion: 21.5liter inline-4 Benz engine	—		124.09	199.70	First 2-way record, set at Brooklands under new Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) 2-way rule
May 17, 1922	Brooklands, United Kingdom	Kenelm Lee Guinness	Sunbeam 350HP	V12, single ohc, 18.3 litre, 350 b.h.p. engine	133.75	215.25			The third and last time the record was set at Brooklands
July 6, 1924	Arpajon, France	René Thomas		Internal combustion, V12, ohv, 10.6 litre, 280 bhp engine			143.31	230.634
July 12, 1924	Arpajon, France	Ernest Eldridge	FIAT Mephistopheles	Internal combustion: 21.7liter inline-6 FIAT A.12 aero engine	—		145.89	234.98	Fastest land speed record ever on a public road
September 25, 1924	Pendine, United Kingdom	Malcolm Campbell		Internal combustion: 18.3liter V12 Sunbeam aero engine	—		146.16	235.22	First land speed record by Malcolm Campbell
July 21, 1925	Pendine, United Kingdom	Malcolm Campbell	Sunbeam 350HP	Internal combustion: 18.3liter V12 Sunbeam aero engine	—		150.87	242.8	First person to travel on land at over 150mph^[31]
March 16, 1926	Ainsdale beach at Southport, United Kingdom	Henry Segrave		Internal combustion: a 4-litre Sunbeam Tiger			152.33	245.15
April 27, 1926	Pendine, United Kingdom	J. G. Parry-Thomas	Babs	Internal combustion: 27liter V12 Liberty L-12 aero engine	169.29	270.864	168.74	269.984	^[32]
April 28, 1926	Pendine, United Kingdom	J. G. Parry-Thomas	Babs	Internal combustion: 27liter V12 Liberty L-12 aero engine	172.09	275.341	171.69	274.590	^[33]
February 4, 1927	Pendine, United Kingdom	Malcolm Campbell	Napier-Campbell Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 22.3liter W12 Napier Lion aero engine	—		174.88	281.44
March 29, 1927	Daytona Beach, United States	Henry Segrave	Mystery (aka "Sunbeam 1000 hp")	Internal combustion: 2 × 22.4liter V12 Sunbeam Matabele aero engines	203.79	327.97			The first car to reach a speed over 200 mph (320 km/h)^[34]
February 19, 1928	Daytona Beach, United States	Malcolm Campbell	Napier-Campbell Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion aero engine	206.956	333.048
April 22, 1928	Daytona Beach, United States	Ray Keech	Triplex Special	Internal combustion: 3 × 27liter V12 Liberty L-12 aero engines	207.552	334.007			^[35]
March 11, 1929	Daytona Beach, United States	Henry Segrave	Golden Arrow	Internal combustion: 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion aero engine	231.446	372.459			Segrave was knighted for this effort^[36]
February 5, 1931	Daytona Beach, United States	Malcolm Campbell		Internal combustion: 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion supercharged aero engine	246.09	396.025			Campbell was knighted for this effort
February 24, 1932	Daytona Beach, United States	Malcolm Campbell	Campbell-Napier-Railton Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion supercharged aero engine	253.97	408.73			First 250mph pass.
February 22, 1933	Daytona Beach, United States	Malcolm Campbell	Campbell-Railton Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engine	272.46	438.48
March 7, 1935	Daytona Beach, United States	Malcolm Campbell	Campbell-Railton Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engine	276.816	445.472
September 3, 1935	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Malcolm Campbell	Campbell-Railton Blue Bird	Internal combustion: 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engine	301.129	484.598			First 300mph pass, first absolute record set at Bonneville
November 19, 1937	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	George Eyston	Thunderbolt	Internal combustion: 2 × 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engines	311.42	501.16
August 27, 1938	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	George Eyston	Thunderbolt	Internal combustion: 2 × 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engines	345.49	556.012
September 15, 1938	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	John Cobb	Railton	Internal combustion: 2 × 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion supercharged aero engines	350.2	563.566
September 16, 1938	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	George Eyston	Thunderbolt	Internal combustion: 2 × 36.7liter V12 Rolls-Royce R supercharged aero engines	357.5	575.314
August 23, 1939	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	John Cobb	Railton Special	Internal combustion: 2 × 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion supercharged aero engines	369.74	595.04	367.91	592.091
September 16, 1947	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	John Cobb	Railton Mobil Special	Internal combustion: 2 × 23.9liter W12 Napier Lion supercharged aero engines	394.196	634.397	394.19	634.39	First single pass at over 400 mph (402 mph)
July 17, 1964	Lake Eyre, Australia	Donald Campbell	Bluebird CN7	Turboshaft 1 × 4000hp Bristol Proteus gas turbine			403.10 ^[37] ^[38]	648.73	Last wheel driven absolute record.

1963–present (jet and rocket propulsion)

Craig Breedlove's mark of,^{[10] [39]} set in Spirit of America in September 1963, was initially considered unofficial. The vehicle breached the FIA regulations on two grounds: it had only three wheels, and it was not wheel-driven, since its jet engine did not supply power to its axles. Some time later, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) created a non-wheel-driven category, and ratified Spirit of Americas time for this mark.^[10] On July 17, 1964, Donald Campbell's Bluebird CN7 posted a speed of on Lake Eyre, Australia. This became the official FIA LSR, although Campbell was disappointed not to have beaten Breedlove's time.^[40] In October, several four-wheel jet-cars surpassed the 1963 mark, but were eligible for neither FIA nor FIM ratification. The confusion of having three different LSRs lasted until December 11, 1964, when the FIA and FIM met in Paris and agreed to recognize as an absolute LSR the higher speed recorded by either body, by any vehicles running on wheels, whether wheel-driven or not.^[41]

Date	Location	Driver	Vehicle	Power	Speed				Comments
					Over 1 km		Over 1 mile
					(mph)	(km/h)	(mph)	(km/h)
August 5, 1963	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Craig Breedlove	Spirit of America	Turbojet			407.447	655.722	Initially considered unofficial since the vehicle had 3 wheels. Later ratified by FIM.
October 2, 1964	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Tom Green	Wingfoot Express	Turbojet			413.2	665.0
October 5, 1964	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Art Arfons	Green Monster	Turbojet			434.03	698.50
October 13, 1964	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Craig Breedlove	Spirit of America	Turbojet			468.719	754.330
October 15, 1964	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Craig Breedlove	Spirit of America	Turbojet			526.277	846.961
October 27, 1964	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Art Arfons	Green Monster	Turbojet			536.710	863.751
November 2, 1965	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Craig Breedlove	Spirit of America – Sonic 1	Turbojet	555.485	893.966	555.485	893.966	^[42]
November 7, 1965	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Art Arfons	Green Monster	Turbojet	576.553	927.872	576.553	927.872
November 15, 1965	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Craig Breedlove	Spirit of America – Sonic 1	Turbojet	594	955.950	600.601	966.574	First thrust powered record to be ratified by the FIA
October 23, 1970	Bonneville Salt Flats, United States	Gary Gabelich	Blue Flame	Rocket	630.478	1014.656	622.407	1001.667	^[43]
October 4, 1983	Black Rock Desert, United States	Richard Noble	Thrust2	Turbojet 1 × Rolls-Royce Avon	634.051	1020.406	633.47	1019.47
September 25, 1997	Black Rock Desert, United States	Andy Green	ThrustSSC	Turbofan 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey	713.990	1149.055	714.144	1149.303
October 15, 1997	Black Rock Desert, United States	Andy Green	ThrustSSC	Turbofan 2 × Rolls-Royce Spey	760.343	1223.657	763.035	1227.986 ^[44]	First to break the speed of sound

See also

• List of vehicle speed records
• British land speed record
• Production car speed record
• Railway speed record
• Motorcycle land speed record
• Aero-engined car
• Pioneer 2M – Soviet Union attempt at the land speed record in early 1960s
• Budweiser Rocket – Claimed but not verified to have reached and to have broken the sound barrier in 1979
• North American Eagle Project – Aiming for 808mi/h, the project was abandoned after one of its drivers was killed in the car.
• Bloodhound LSR – Project aiming for 1050mi/h.
• Rosco McGlashan – Australia's fastest man on the land. His Aussie Invader team is building a fully rocket-powered LSR car with an attempt at the record currently on hold pending funding.^[45]

External links

• • – Australian challengers to the supersonic showdown
• Speed Record Club – The Speed Record Club seeks to promote an informed and educated enthusiast identity, reporting accurately and impartially to the best of its ability on record-breaking engineering, events, attempts and history.
• The Land Speed Record in the Sixties: an on-line collection

Notes and References

1. Web site: List Of FIA Absolute World Records . FIA . 9 April 2023.
2. Web site: Official List Of World Speed Records Homologated By The FIA In Category C . FIA . 9 April 2023.
3. Web site: FIA land speed records . FIA . October 16, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081011151924/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/records/Pages/Introduction.aspx . October 11, 2008 .
4. http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/records/appendixd/Pages/Chapter2.aspx Regulations for Record Attempts – CHAPTER 2
5. Web site: §105. Conditions for the recognition of international or world records . Sporting Code: Chapter 7: Records . FIA . October 16, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081221225344/http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/Common/sporting_code/chapter07.html . December 21, 2008 .
6. Book: Northey, Tom . Land Speed Record: The Fastest Men on Earth . Ian Ward . World of Automobiles . London . Orbis . 1974 . 10 . 1162.
7. Book: Martin. James A.. Thomas F. . Saal . American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed. McFarland. 2004 . 39. Ch 17: Land Speed Record to 1939. 978-0-7864-1235-8.
8. Northey, p.1163.
9. Northey, p.1164.
10. Northey, p.1166.
11. News: What exactly is the women's world land-speed record? . . Daniel . Strohl . 26 September 2019 . 25 June 2021 . ... the Fédération Internationale de L'Automobile, which oversees world land-speed record attempts, doesn't recognize separate men's and women's records. ... The Guinness Book of World Records – to which the North American Eagle team submitted Combs's data – appears to be the only record-keeping entity that does recognize gender-separated land-speed records ... The idea of creating a separate, though unofficial, category for women's land-speed records likely originated with Levitt ... Goodyear and Firestone didn't place Murphy, Skelton, and Lee Breedlove in those cars to empower women; they did it instead to market to women ... That the women's land-speed record does not officially exist may be a relic of less enlightened times when men believed women to be inferior and incapable of handling an automobile, but it may also, ironically, serve the interests of gender equality..
12. Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey, Tom, ed. The World of Automobiles (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 13, p.1483.
13. [G.N. Georgano]
14. Web site: Women in Motorsport – Timeline . Btinternet.com . October 17, 2010 . https://archive.today/20120724160016/http://www.btinternet.com/~rhobbs/womtime.htm . July 24, 2012 . dead.
15. Book: Samuel Hawley . Speed Duel: The Inside Story of the Land Speed Record in the Sixties . 2011 . Firefly Books . 978-1-77088-007-8 .
16. "Knowingly Navigating the Unknown ", Maria Russo, The New York Times, May 7, 2013
17. Web site: Ellen Jares . Sue . The Renaissance Woman of Danger—That's Tiny Kitty O'Neil . People . January 7, 2014 . December 2, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131202181048/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20067351,00.html . dead.
18. Web site: Phinizy . Coles . A Rocket Ride To Glory And Gloom . SI Vault . August 28, 2019.
19. Web site: Deaf stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil sets women's land-speed record . History . January 7, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190613000719/http://www.history.com:80/this-day-in-history/deaf-stuntwoman-kitty-oneil-sets-womens-land-speed-record . June 13, 2019.
20. Web site: Female land speed record broken by Jessi Combs after 48 years . October 15, 2013 . SlashGear . en-US . October 26, 2019.
21. Web site: Race car driver Jessi Combs, known as the 'fastest woman on four wheels,' dies while trying to beat record . Leah . Asmelash . CNN . August 28, 2019 . October 26, 2019.
22. News: American jet-car racer and Mythbusters host Jessi Combs posthumously awarded world land-speed record for a woman . . US . June 25, 2020 . June 26, 2020.
23. Northey, p.1161.
24. Web site: Land Speed Record Holders Timeline . Dave . Fowler . 2019 . February 23, 2020.
25. Book: Ross, Frank . Car racing against the clock : the story of the world land speed record . 1976 . Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. . 978-0-688-41743-7 . 10–13.
26. News: The Blazing Fast Evolution Of Land Speed Record Cars . Attila . Nagy . Gizmodo . Australia . July 18, 2014 . February 23, 2020.
27. Posthumus, Cyril. Land Speed Record: A complete history of the record-breaking cars from 39 to 600+ mph (Osprey Publishing, Reading, 1971)
28. Cars Against the Clock, The World Land Speed Record, Robert B. Jackson (New York, Henry Z. Walck, Inc.), p.19,
29. http://www.steamcar.co.uk/index.html
30. Web site: History of Automobile World Records. Seherr-Thoss. October 1987. FIA.
31. Scott A. G. M. Crawford, "Campbell, Sir Malcolm (1885–1948)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2011 accessed 20 April 2013
32. April 28, 1926. Hier, sur la plage de Pendine, l'Anglais J. P. Thomas a atteint la formidable vitesse de 277 kil. à l'heure!. L'Auto. 1. BnF/Gallica.
33. April 29, 1926. A nouveau, J. P. Thomas a battu hier les records du monde du mille et du kilomètre qu'il s'était appropriés la veille!. L'Auto. 1. BnF/Gallica.
34. Holthusen, Peter J.R. (1986). The Land Speed Record
35. Northey, Tom (1974). "Land Speed Record: The Fastest Men on Earth". In Tom Northey. World of Automobiles. Vol. 10 (London: Orbis), pp.1164–5.
36. Northey, p.1165.
37. Web site: Proteus Bluebird CN7. The National Motor Museum Trust. June 17, 2019.
38. Web site: Bluebird CN7 – Donald Campbell. Land Speed Record. June 17, 2019.
39. Twite, Mike. "Craig Breedlove: Toward the Sound Barrier", in World of Automobiles (Volume 2, p.231).
40. Web site: Land Speed Record History | Bloodhound SSC Risbridger . September 9, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170912055601/http://www.bloodhound-risbridger.com/Land-Speed-Record-History . September 12, 2017 . dead .
41. News: Land Speed Record Agreement . . December 12, 1964 . 7, col E . 56193.
42. Cars Against the Clock, The Fastest Men on Earth, Clifton, Paul, New York, The John Day Company, page 238, L.C. 66-15097
43. Web site: FIA land speed records, Cat C. FIA. July 12, 2009.
44. Web site: Introduction . . January 17, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111230130023/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/sport/records/Pages/Introduction.aspx . December 30, 2011 . dead .
45. Web site: June 2016 Newsletter . July 4, 2016.