Thrust SSC technically became the fastest land vehicle not once but twice, as its initial record-breaking run didn’t quite break the sound barrier. The first run clocked an average speed of 714 mph, comfortably beating the previous record of 633 mph. The team celebrated, but after just a night to unwind, Richard Noble was insistent that everyone should quickly regroup and try to focus on breaking the sound barrier. A few days later, the car did indeed break the barrier for the first time, creating a sonic boom that echoed across the desert. However, to set an official speed record, the team needed to turn the car around and set a second time in the opposite direction within one hour. After the car’s parachutes failed, causing it to overshoot the track, the team missed out on the deadline by just 50 seconds, making the record invalid.
The team was understandably dejected, and the car was taking more and more damage after every run. Nonetheless, they patched the Thrust SSC up and attempted the record again. This time, they were successful, as the parachutes deployed as planned and the team was able to reset the car for its second run with several minutes to spare. A new official speed record was set at 763 mph, and after seven years of toil, Noble had finally achieved his goal.
