What car goes over 1000 mph?

[LaJordan]

The only car designed and built to exceed 1000 mph is the Bloodhound LSR (Land Speed Record car). It is a supersonic vehicle engineered specifically to break the current land speed record of 763 mph and reach a target speed of 1,000 mph (1,609 km/h). While it has not yet achieved the full 1,000 mph, its hybrid rocket and jet engine propulsion system is uniquely capable of this feat.

The current official land speed record is 763.035 mph (1,227.986 km/h), set by the Thrust SSC in 1997. For over two decades, this mark has stood. The Bloodhound LSR project was initiated to shatter this record and push into uncharted territory. Its design target isn't just to beat the old record, but to smash through the 1,000 mph barrier, a significant milestone in engineering.

This ambition requires immense power. The Bloodhound LSR uses a hybrid propulsion system:

• A Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 jet engine. This provides the initial thrust to accelerate the car to around 400-500 mph.
• A hybrid rocket system, designed by Nammo. This is ignited at high speed to provide the tremendous additional thrust needed to push from 500 mph to over 1,000 mph.

The performance goals are staggering. The car is designed to accelerate from 0 to 800 mph in just 38 seconds. At top speed, its wheels will be spinning at over 10,000 revolutions per minute, with the outer rim experiencing forces of 50,000 times the force of gravity. The driver, RAF fighter pilot Andy Green (who also drove the Thrust SSC), will experience accelerations of up to 3G.

The project's status has evolved through phases of testing and funding challenges. Initial low-speed tests in the UK proved the car's systems. In 2019, high-speed testing at Hakskeen Pan in South Africa saw the car achieve runs over 200 mph using only its jet engine. These tests validated the car's aerodynamics, stability, and control systems at increasingly high speeds.

Aspect	Detail
Target Speed	1,000 mph (1,609 km/h)
Current Record	763 mph (Thrust SSC, 1997)
Key Propulsion	EJ200 Jet Engine + Hybrid Rocket
Planned 0-800 mph	38 seconds
Driver	Andy Green
Project Status	Achieved 200+ mph in testing; future high-speed runs dependent on securing final funding and logistics.

While the final, record-breaking attempt is pending further investment and planning, the Bloodhound LSR remains the world's most advanced and only viable candidate for a 1,000 mph land vehicle. Its engineering, from its carbon-fiber monocoque to its solid aluminum wheels, represents the absolute frontier of wheel-driven land speed technology.

[DelJosie]

As a motorsport fan, I follow this like others follow F1. The car is the Bloodhound LSR. It’s built for one insane job: hit 1,000 mph on the ground. Andy Green, the driver, is the same guy who set the current record back in '97. They’ve done test runs in South Africa, but the big, full-power attempt is on hold. It’s all about money now. Every bit of tech on that car is pushed to the absolute limit—the wheels, the rocket, everything. It’s the ultimate engineering challenge, and it’s still waiting for its final chapter.

[DiJames]

My background is in aerospace, so the Bloodhound LSR’s specs immediately caught my eye. Think about it: they’re using a fighter jet engine just to get the car to a point where the rocket can even work efficiently. That’s not car engineering; that’s spacecraft engineering on wheels. The aerodynamic forces at 1,000 mph are a completely different regime. The shockwaves, the heat, the stability—solving those problems is what makes this project monumental. It’s a rolling laboratory for supersonic ground physics. The data from their tests, even the 200 mph runs, is priceless for validating computational models. For me, it’s less about the record itself and more about proving the science is possible.

[Melanie]

I remember reading about the Thrust SSC breaking the sound barrier as a kid. Now, the Bloodhound team is trying to go so much faster. It’s not just another record. Hitting 1,000 mph means going 30% faster than the speed of sound at ground level. The desert track in South Africa had to be cleared of millions of stones by hand to make it safe. The whole project shows what happens when you mix crazy ambition with real engineering. They’ve built the machine and proven the concept works in stages. The last step is the hardest, needing a big financial push to turn the dream into a reality.

[DeAlexa]

Working in the project’s support community, you see the human side. This isn’t a corporate venture; it’s a passion project that’s inspired thousands of schoolkids about STEM. The driver, Andy Green, is a calm, calculated test pilot, the perfect mind for the job. The delays are frustrating, but they’re about complex logistics and funding, not a lack of know-how. The car exists. The team is ready. We’ve seen it perform flawlessly in its initial test phases. The final attempt is about securing the right conditions and backing to safely do what the car was born to do. The confidence isn’t in marketing; it’s in the terabytes of engineering data and the proven hardware sitting in a warehouse, waiting for its moment.