List of vehicle speed records
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates The following is a list of speed records for various types of vehicles. This list only presents the single greatest speed achieved in each broad record category; for more information on records under variations of test conditions, see the specific article for each record category. As with many world records, there may be some dispute over the criteria for a record-setting event, the authority of the organization certifying the record, and the actual speed achieved.
Land vehicles
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ThrustSSC, which has held the land speed record since 1997
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VeloX3, formerly the world's fastest human-powered vehicle
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Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, the fastest production car
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JCB Dieselmax, the fastest diesel car
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Buckeye Bullet 3, the fastest electric car
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Imagination, the fastest steam powered vehicle
| Category | Speed (km/h) | Speed (mph) | Vehicle | Operator | Date | Certifier | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On ice | Template:Decimal-align | Audi RS 6 | Janne Laitinen | 9 Mar 2013 | FIA | [15] | |
| On the Moon | Template:Decimal-align | Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRVTemplate:Nbh003) |
Eugene Cernan | 11 Dec 1972 | (unofficial) | [16] | |
| On Mars | Template:Decimal-align | Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with semiTemplate:Nbhautonomous control | Jul 2004 | GWR | [17] |
Rail vehicles
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Lt. Col. John P. Stapp rides the rocket sled at Edwards Air Force Base
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The V150, the world's fastest wheeled train, on its record-breaking run
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Schienenzeppelin propeller-driven rail car
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Mallard, the world's fastest steam train
| Category | Speed (km/h) | Speed (mph) | Vehicle | Operator | Date | Certifier | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket sled | Template:Decimal-align | Super Roadrunner | (uncrewed) / USAF | 29 Apr 2003 | [18] | ||
| Maglev rocket sled | Template:Decimal-align | (unnamed) | (uncrewed) / USAF | 4 Mar 2016 | [19] | ||
| Rocket sled (crewed) | Template:Decimal-align | Sonic Wind No. 1 | John Stapp / USAF | 10 Dec 1954 | [20] | ||
| Maglev train (crewed) | Template:Decimal-align | SCMaglev L0 Series | Central Japan Railway Company | 21 Apr 2015 | GWR | [21] | |
| Wheeled | Template:Decimal-align | TGV POS V150 | Eric Pieczac | 3 Apr 2007 | [22][23] | ||
| Propeller-driven | Template:Decimal-align | Schienenzeppelin | Franz Kruckenberg | 21 Jun 1931 | [24][25] | ||
| Steam-driven | Template:Decimal-align | LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard |
Joseph Duddington and Thomas Bray | 3 Jul 1938 | [26][27][28] |
Aircraft
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HTV-2 (artist rendering), the fastest uncrewed aerial vehicle
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North American X-15, the fastest piloted rocket-powered aircraft
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SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest piloted air-breathing aircraft
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Rare Bear, the fastest piston-engined aircraft
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Musculair 2, the fastest human-powered aircraft
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Rolls-Royce ACCEL, the fastest electric aircraft
Noted unofficial records
Watercraft
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Model of Spirit of Australia, which holds the water speed record
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Vestas Sailrocket, the fastest wind-powered watercraft
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Decavitator, the fastest human-powered watercraft
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Omer 5, the fastest human-powered submarine
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The "Caspian Sea Monster", the fastest ground-effect vehicleTemplate:Efn
| Category | Speed (knots) |
Speed (km/h) |
Speed (mph) |
Vehicle | Operator | Date | Certifier | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water speed record | Template:Decimal-align | Spirit of Australia | Ken Warby | 8 Oct 1978 | UIM | [47][48] | ||
| Propeller-driven | Template:Decimal-align | Problem Child | Daryl Ehrlich | 22 Nov 2009 | IHBA, GWR | [49][50] | ||
| Wind-powered | Template:Decimal-align | Vestas Sailrocket 2 | Paul Larsen | 24 Nov 2012 | WSSRC | [51][52] | ||
| HovercraftTemplate:Efn | Template:Decimal-align | Universal UH19P Jenny II |
Bob Windt | 1 Jan 1995 | WHF, GWR | [53] | ||
| Human-powered | Template:Decimal-align | Decavitator | Mark Drela | 27 Oct 1991 | IHPVA | [54][55] | ||
| Human-powered submarine | Template:Decimal-align | Omer 5 | Sebastien Brisebois, Joel Brunet |
28 Jun 2007 | ISR | [56] | ||
| Ground effect vehicleTemplate:Efn | Template:Decimal-align | Korabl Maket "Caspian Sea Monster" |
Soviet Navy | ca. 1966–1980 | (unofficial) | [57] | ||
| Underwater vehicle | There is no officially recognized speed record for underwater craft, due to the secretive nature of military vessels. In 1968, a Soviet Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities". reportedly tracked an American carrier group traveling at Script error: No such module "convert"..[58] Uncrewed torpedo speed claims range from Script error: No such module "convert". for the British Spearfish torpedo[59] to Script error: No such module "convert". for the Russian VA-111 Shkval.[60] | |||||||
Spacecraft
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Because of the influence of gravity, maximum velocities are usually attained when a spacecraft is close to its primary body: either just after launch, at a point of closest approach (periapsis), or during the early stages of atmospheric entry.
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Parker Solar Probe (artist rendering), fastest spacecraft relative to the Sun
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New Horizons (artist rendering), fastest spacecraft upon departing Earth
| Frame of reference | Category | Speed relative to frame of reference | Vehicle | Operator | Crew | Date | RefsTemplate:Efn | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km/h | km/s | mph | |||||||
| Sun | Periapsis | Template:Decimal-align | Parker Solar Probe | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 24 Dec 2024 | [62] | ||
| Earth | Escape | Template:Decimal-align | New Horizons | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 19 Jan 2006 | [63] | ||
| Entry | Template:Decimal-align | Stardust | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 15 Jan 2006 | [64] | |||
| Entry (crewed) | Template:Decimal-align | Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown | Template:Flagicon NASA | Thomas Stafford, John Young, Eugene Cernan |
26 May 1969 | [65] | |||
| Mars | Entry | Template:Decimal-align | Mars Pathfinder | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 4 Jul 1997 | [66] | ||
| Jupiter | Orbit insertion | Template:Decimal-align | Juno | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 4 Jul 2016 | [67][61] | ||
| Entry | Template:Decimal-align | Galileo | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 21 Sep 2003 | [68] | |||
| Saturn | Periapsis | Template:Decimal-align | Cassini | Template:Flagicon NASA | (uncrewed) | 27 Apr 2017 | [69] | ||
See also
References
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