As the wind blew across the dusty surface of Black Rock Desert, Nevada, a small group of engineers carried on with their inspection. They were being supervised by someone, who in my opinion, could pass as a Hugh Bonneville impersonator- Richard Noble. What he was looking at in front of him was the culmination of his life's work, The Thrust Supersonic Car.
Richard Noble, OBE. Am I the only one who sees the resemblance to Hugh Bonneville? (Credits- guinnessworldrecords.com)
Attaining the land speed record was a childhood dream, from when he first saw 'The Crusader', the speedboat in which John Cobb was to be killed while attempting a speed record, moored on the Loch Ness quayside. His pursuance of this dream led to him building the 'Thrust 1' in 1975. It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Derwent engine, the simplest jet engine available at the time, and built in a rented garage in Turnham Green, London. The entire cost of the project was just £1500, of which £1100 was obtained by selling Noble's Triumph TR6. In it's first run, Thrust 1 reached north of 180mph (288kph). In it's second run however, it went sideways and rolled at 140mph (224kph), much like Richard Hammond's accident. The first one. The car never ran again and was sold for scrap for £175.
Thrust 1 with Richard Noble sitting fashionably on it. (Credits- bloodhoundssc.com)
The first project was not a total waste, however. Noble always viewed the Thrust One just as a stepping stone to greater things. He started his second project, the Thrust 2, with the £175 he had at the time. In 1980, it broke the British Land Speed Record with Noble at the wheel. He held that record till 2000, when the 'Vampire' seized it from him (Incidentally, Richard Hammond had been driving the Vampire at the time of his accident. The first one). More importantly, however, he broke the World Land Speed Record in 1983 with an average speed of 633mph (1,012kph). When asked why he did it, he replied with the memorable quote "For Britain and for the hell of it".
Thrust 2 with Richard Noble sitting fashionably on it (Credits- gregwapling.com)
And on that October morning in 1997, Noble was trying to beat no one but himself. The Thrust SSC was powered by two Rolls-Royce engines, the same used in a F4 Phantom II jet, and produced an equivalent of 110,000 bhp. It was sanctioned with a budget of £2.85 million, which is a tiny amount compared to it's competitor McLaren Maverick's budget of £25 million. Noble didn't operate the vehicle himself, instead handing over the keys to RAF pilot, Andy Green. On 15th October, Andy Green piloted it to an astounding speed of 763 mph (1,228 kph) making the Thrust SSC the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier.
Thrust SSC during it's run, with Richard Noble sitting a safe distance away (Credits- crankandpiston.com)
The record set by Thrust SSC stands till date. Both Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC are displayed at the Coventry Transport Museum. Upon realizing that he's not going to receive any external competition, Richard Noble is attempting to better himself yet again with the upcoming Bloodhound SSC project with which he hopes to exceed 1000 mph (1,600 kph) by 2020. You can watch Andy Green speak about his experience here
Join In
Comments (1)
Nice article