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

Main article: Land speed record

For rail vehicles, see § Rail vehicles.

By type of vehicle

ThrustSSC, which has held the land speed record since 15 October 1997
ThrustSSC, which has held the land speed record since 15 October 1997
VeloX3, the former world's fastest human-powered vehicle
VeloX3, the former world's fastest human-powered vehicle
Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs
Land speed record[a] 1,227.985 763.035 ThrustSSC Andy Green 15 Oct 1997 FIA [2]
Wheel-driven[b] 745.187 463.038 Vesco Turbinator II Dave Spangler 14 Aug 2018 SCTA [3][4]
Piston-engine[c] 722.204 448.757 Challenger 2 Danny Thompson 12 Aug 2018 SCTA [6]
Motorcycle[d] 605.698 376.363 Ack Attack Rocky Robinson 25 Sep 2010 FIM [7]
Diesel-powered[e] 563.998 350.452 JCB DieselMax Andy Green 23 Aug 2006 FIA [8]
Electric-powered[e] 550.627 342.144 Venturi VBB‑3 Streamliner Roger Schroer 19 Sep 2016 FIA [8]
Radio-controlled car (rocket) 338.14 210.11 Black Knight Anthony Lovering 4 May 2016 GWR [9][10]
Radio-controlled car (battery) 325.12 202.02 RC Bullet Nic Case 25 Oct 2014 GWR [11][12]
Steam-powered[e] 238.679 148.308 Inspiration Don Wales 25 Aug 2009 FIA [8]
Wind-powered[f] 203.09 126.19 Ecotricity Greenbird Richard Jenkins 26 Mar 2009 NALSA [13]
Human-powered[g] 144.17 89.58 AeroVelo Eta Todd Reichert 17 Sep 2016 IHPVA [15]
Solar-powered[h] 91.332 56.751 Sky Ace TIGA Kenjiro Shinozuka 20 Aug 2014 GWR [16]
Tracked vehicle 121.9 75.7 modified M113 APC Carl May Jul/Aug 1979 US Army [17]
  1. ^ Average over two subsequent runs in opposite directions over a 1 mile (1.6 km) course, with flying start[1]
  2. ^ Average over 1 mile (1.6 km), with a flying start
  3. ^ Average over two subsequent runs with four hours to work on the vehicle in impound[5]
  4. ^ Average over 1 kilometre (0.62 mi), with a flying start
  5. ^ a b c Average over two subsequent runs in opposite directions over a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) course, with flying start[1]
  6. ^ Average over three seconds
  7. ^ Unpaced on a straight surface -0.6% grade;[14] average over 200 metres (660 ft), with flying start (For other cycling records, see cycling records)
  8. ^ For vehicles powered directly by solar power, without batteries

By surface

Apollo 17 LRV, fastest vehicle driven on the moon
Apollo 17 LRV, fastest vehicle driven on the moon
Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs
On ice 335.7 208.6 Audi RS 6 Janne Laitinen 9 Mar 2013 FIA [18]
On the Moon 18.0 11.2 Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV‑003) Eugene Cernan 11 Dec 1972 (unofficial) [19]
On Mars 0.18 0.11 Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with semi‑autonomous control Jul 2004 GWR [20]

Rail vehicles

Main article: Land speed record for rail vehicles
Lt. Col. John P. Stapp rides the rocket sled at Edwards Air Force Base
Lt. Col. John P. Stapp rides the rocket sled at Edwards Air Force Base
Schienenzeppelin Propeller-driven rail car
Schienenzeppelin Propeller-driven rail car
Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs
Rocket sled 10,326 6,416 Super Roadrunner (uncrewed) / USAF 29 Apr 2003 [21]
Maglev rocket sled 1,019 633 USAF rocket sled (unnamed) (uncrewed) / USAF 4 Mar 2016 [22]
Rocket sled (crewed) 1,017 632 Sonic Wind No. 1 John Stapp / USAF 10 Dec 1954 [23]
Maglev train (crewed) 603 375 SCMaglev L0 Series Shinkansen 21 Apr 2015 GWR [24]
Wheeled train 574.8 357.2 TGV POS V150 Eric Pieczac 3 Apr 2007 [25][26]
Propeller-driven rail car 230 140 Schienenzeppelin Franz Kruckenberg 21 Jun 1931 [27][28]
Steam train 202.6 125.9 LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard Joseph Duddington and Thomas Bray 3 Jul 1938 [29][30][31]

Aircraft

Main article: Flight airspeed record

Aircraft speed records are based on airspeed, rather than ground speed.

North American X-15, the fastest piloted rocket-powered aircraft
North American X-15, the fastest piloted rocket-powered aircraft
SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest piloted air-breathing aircraft
SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest piloted air-breathing aircraft
Musculair 2, the fastest human-powered aircraft
Musculair 2, the fastest human-powered aircraft
Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Mach No.[a] Vehicle Crew Date Certifier Refs
Uncrewed aerial vehicle 21,245 13,201 ~20 HTV‑2 (uncrewed) 22 Apr 2010 (unofficial) [32]
Crewed rocket-powered aircraft 7,270 4,520 6.7 North American X‑15A‑2 William J. Knight 3 Oct 1967 GWR [33][34]
Crewed air-breathing craft 3,529.56 2,193.17 3.3 Lockheed SR‑71A Blackbird
#61‑7958 		Eldon W. Joersz 28 Jul 1976 FAI [35][36]
Propeller-driven aircraft 871.38 541.45 0.82 Tupolev Tu‑114 Ivan Soukhomline 1960 FAI [37][38]
Piston-engined aircraft 850.24 528.31 0.69 Grumman F8F Bearcat (modified)
Rare Bear 		Lyle Shelton 21 Aug 1989 FAI [39][40]
Helicopter[note 1] 400.87 249.09 0.33 Westland Lynx 800 G‑LYNX John Egginton 11 Aug 1986 FAI [41][42]
Electric aircraft[b] 555.9 345.4 0.29 Rolls-Royce Accel 'Spirit of Innovation' Steve Jones 19 November 2021 FAI [43]
Glider (sailplane)[c] 306.8 190.6 0.25 Schempp‑Hirth Nimbus‑4DM Klaus Ohlmann (pilot) and Matias Garcia Mazzaro 22 Dec 2006 FAI [44]
Airship[note 2] 115.1 71.5 0.09 Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik
LZ N07‑100 (DLZFN) 		Steve Fossett (pilot) and Hans‑Paul Ströhle 27 Oct 2004 FAI [46][47]
Human-powered aircraft 44.32 27.54 0.03 Musculair 2 Holger Rochelt 2 Oct 1985 FAI [48][49]
Ground effect vehicle See entry under § Watercraft.
  1. ^ Mach number depends on ambient temperature, and thus altitude, as well as speed; it is not a direct measure of speed.
  2. ^ Over a 3-kilometer course
  3. ^ Average speed over an out-and-return course of 500 km

Noted unofficial records

  1. ^ Unofficial helicopter speed records by the Sikorsky X2 (460 km/h on 15 September 2010) and the Eurocopter X3 (472 km/h on 7 June 2013) would surpass this record if accepted.
  2. ^ Greater speeds reportedly achieved by rigid airships, including 140.3 kilometres per hour (87.2 mph) by the American USS Macon (ZRS-5), are not recognized by the FAI, because these runs did not account for wind speed by flying a set course in both directions.[45]

Watercraft

Main article: Water speed record
Model of Spirit of Australia, which set the water speed record in 1978
Model of Spirit of Australia, which set the water speed record in 1978
Decavitator, the world's fastest human-powered watercraft
Decavitator, the world's fastest human-powered watercraft
Category Speed
(knots) 		Speed
(km/h) 		Speed
(mph) 		Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs
Water speed record 275.98 511.11 317.59 Spirit of Australia Ken Warby 8 Oct 1978 UIM [50][51]
Propeller-driven watercraft 226.78 420.00 260.97 Problem Child Daryl Ehrlich 22 Nov 2009 IHBA, GWR [52][53]
Wind-powered watercraft 65.45 121.21 75.32 Vestas Sailrocket 2 Paul Larsen 24 Nov 2012 WSSRC [54][55]
Hovercraft[a] 74.2 137.4 85.4 Universal UH19P Jenny II Bob Windt 1 Jan 1995 WHF, GWR [56]
Human-powered watercraft 18.5 34.3 21.3 Decavitator Mark Drela 27 Oct 1991 IHPVA [57][58]
Human-powered submarine 8.035 14.881 9.247 Omer 5 Sebastien Brisebois and Joel Brunet 28 Jun 2007 ISR [59]
Ground effect vehicle[b] 350 650 400 Korabl Maket (Naval Prototype) "Caspian Sea Monster" ca. 1966–1980 (unofficial) [61]
Underwater vehicle There is no officially recognized speed record for underwater craft, due to the secretive nature of military vessels. In 1968, a Soviet November-class submarine reportedly tracked an American carrier group traveling at 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph).[62] Uncrewed torpedo speed claims range from 60 knots (110 km/h; 69 mph) for the British Spearfish torpedo[63] to 200 knots (370 km/h; 230 mph) for the Russian VA-111 Shkval.[64]
  1. ^ Measured over 1 km with a flying start
  2. ^ Ground effect vehicles (a.k.a. "Wing-In-Ground effect vehicles") are classified as maritime vessels, rather than aircraft, by the International Maritime Organization.[60]

Spacecraft

Main article: List of spaceflight records § Speed and altitude

In order to unambiguously express the speed of a spacecraft, a frame of reference must be specified. Typically, this frame is fixed to the body with the greatest gravitational influence on the spacecraft, as this is the most relevant frame for most purposes.[65] Velocities in different frames of reference are not directly comparable; thus the matter of the "fastest spacecraft" depends on the reference frame used.

Because of the influence of gravity, maximum velocities are usually attained when a spacecraft is close to its primary body, either just after launch, during the early stages of atmospheric entry, or at a point of closest approach (periapsis).

Parker Solar Probe (artist rendering)
Parker Solar Probe (artist rendering)
Apollo 10 command module Charlie Brown, the fastest crewed vehicle relative to the Earth
Apollo 10 command module Charlie Brown, the fastest crewed vehicle relative to the Earth
Frame of reference Category Speed relative to frame of reference Vehicle Operator Crew Date Refs[a]
km/h km/s mph
Sun Periapsis 587,000 163 365,000 Parker Solar Probe United States NASA (uncrewed) 21 Nov 2021[b] [67]
Earth Escape 58,536 16.26 36,370 New Horizons United States NASA (uncrewed) 19 Jan 2006 [68]
Entry 46,100 12.8 28,600 Stardust United States NASA (uncrewed) 15 Jan 2006 [69]
Entry (crewed) 39,897 11.08 24,790 Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown United States NASA Thomas Stafford, John Young,
and Eugene Cernan 		26 May 1969 [70]
Mars Entry 27,000 7.6 17,000 Mars Pathfinder United States NASA (uncrewed) 4 Jul 1997 [71]
Jupiter Orbit insertion 209,000 58 130,000 Juno United States NASA (uncrewed) 4 Jul 2016 [72][65]
Entry 173,736 48.26 108,000 Galileo United States NASA (uncrewed) 21 Sep 2003 [73]
Saturn Periapsis 122,000 34 76,000 Cassini United States NASA (uncrewed) 27 Apr 2017 [74]
  1. ^ Speed records in this class are generally reported by the spacecraft operator and not independently verified.
  2. ^ The Parker Solar Probe is expected to beat this record in September 2023. Following several more gravity assists at Venus, the spacecraft is expected to reach a maximum speed at perihelion of approximately 200 km/s (720,000 km/h; 450,000 mph) on 24 December 2024.[66]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "FIA Records List Cat. C" (PDF). Federation Internationale de L'automobile. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  3. ^ Brandan Gillogly (14 August 2018), Team Vesco's Turbinator II runs 463 mph, breaks Speed Week record, Hagerty
  4. ^ Speed Week 2018 certified records, Southern California Timing Association, 18 August 2018, p. 8
  5. ^ 2018 Regulations For Land Speed Record Attempts. Southern California Timing Association. 17 December 2015.
  6. ^ Brownell, Bradley (12 August 2018). "Danny Thompson's Challenger II Set The Piston-Driven Land Speed Record Today, 50 Years After It First Came To Bonneville". Jalopnik. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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  8. ^ a b c "FIA Records List Cat. A" (Download). Federation Internationale de L'automobile. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ^ Waldron, Aaron. "Rocket-powered RC car set new world record". LiveRC.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
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