The British team behind the Thrust supersonic car broke the world land-speed record last night with an average of 714.1 m.p.h. Thrust SSC clocked up 700 m.p.h. for its first run in the Nevada desert last night, then smashed the previous record of 633 m.p.h. with a second run of 728 m.p.h.
The team received congratulations from Queen Elizabeth and Downing Street. The car had already become the first land vehicle to travel faster than 700 m.p.h, setting a speed of 719.1 m.p.h. on the second of its timed runs on Tuesday. To set a new record - beating the current mark held by the man behind the Thrust SSC project, Richard Noble, at 633 m.p.h. - the car had to make two runs within an hour of each other.