#256 Thrust SSC Supersonic Car


1997

First Land Vehicle to Exceed the Speed of Sound; averaged 763.04 mph (1227.99 km/h), Mach 1.02



ASME President Madiha Kotb (center) poses with principals of the ThrustSSC project following plaque unveiling.
Image Caption Continued: (L-R)  Chris Cowell, engine maintenance & repair , Ron Ayers, engineer, Concept Design, Richard Noble, Concept Design, Glynne Bowsher, engineer, Structure Design, and  Gary Hall, chief executive, Coventry Transport Museum.

Powered by two Rolls-Royce MK 202 Spey Turbofan engines which produced over 44,000 lbs (196kN) of thrust, the Thrust SSC Supersonic car is recognized as the world land speed record holder. In achieving an average speed of over 760 mph in 1997 at Black Rock Dry Lake, Nevada, it became the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier.

Commemorative Plaque

The Thrust SSC was conceived by entrepreneur Richard Noble and designed by Ron Ayers, former chief aerodynamicist at British Aerospace and a team of engineers. The strategic mounting and positioning of the engines, placement of the tires, management of safety and control of lift force were just some of the team's mechanical and aerodynamic solutions to problems that would have prevented Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green from achieving his record-setting run.

ThrustSSC Supersonic car on display at Coventry Transport Museum. Image: Wikimedia Commons


 

Landmark Location

Coventry Transport Museum 
Millennium Place, Hales Street 
Coventry 024 7623 4270.

Visiting Info

Open to the Public.
For more info visit Museum website at www.transport-museum.com

Ceremony Notes

March 2014.
Plaque presented by ASME President Madiha El-Mehelmy Kotb.

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