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

+ Land speed records by type of vehicle Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs Land speed record ThrustSSC Andy Green 15 Oct 1997 FIA Wheel-driven Vesco Turbinator II Dave Spangler 14 Aug 2018 SCTA Piston-engine Challenger 2 Danny Thompson 12 Aug 2018 SCTA Hydrogen-powered, piston JCB Hydromax Andy Green 11 Aug 2026 FIA Motorcycle Ack Attack Rocky Robinson 25 Sep 2010 FIM Diesel-powered JCB DieselMax Andy Green 23 Aug 2006 FIA Electric-powered Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 Roger Schroer 19 Sep 2016 FIA Production vehicle Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ Andy Wallace 2 Aug 2019 TÜV Radio-controlled car (rocket-powered) Black Knight Anthony Lovering 4 May 2016 GWR Radio-controlled car (battery-powered) RC Bullet Nic Case 25 Oct 2014 GWR Steam-powered Inspiration Don Wales 25 Aug 2009 FIA Wind-powered Horonuku Glenn Ashby 24 Feb 2023 FISLY Human-powered AeroVelo Eta Todd Reichert 17 Sep 2016 IHPVA Tracked vehicle modified M113 APC Carl May Jul/Aug 1979 US Army Solar-powered Sky Ace TIGA Kenjiro Shinozuka 20 Aug 2014 GWR

+ Land speed records by surface Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs On ice Audi RS 6 Janne Laitinen 9 Mar 2013 FIA On the Moon Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle(LRV003) Eugene Cernan 11 Dec 1972 (unofficial) On Mars Mars Exploration RoversSpirit and Opportunity Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with semiautonomous control Jul 2004 GWR

Rail vehicles

+ Rail speed records Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs Rocket sled Super Roadrunner (uncrewed) / USAF 29 Apr 2003 Maglev rocket sled (unnamed) (uncrewed) / USAF 4 Mar 2016 Rocket sled (crewed) Sonic Wind No. 1 John Stapp / USAF 10 Dec 1954 Maglev train (crewed) SCMaglev L0 Series Central Japan Railway Company 21 Apr 2015 GWR Wheeled TGV POS V150 Eric Pieczac 3 Apr 2007 Propeller-driven Schienenzeppelin Franz Kruckenberg 21 Jun 1931 Steam-driven LNER Class A44468 Mallard Joseph Duddington and Thomas Bray 3 Jul 1938

Aircraft

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

+ Airspeed records Category Speed (km/h) Speed (mph) Mach No. Vehicle Crew Date Certifier Refs Uncrewed aerial vehicle ~20 HTV2 (uncrewed) 22 Apr 2010 (unofficial) Crewed, rocket-powered 6.7 North American X15A2 William J. Knight 3 Oct 1967 GWR Crewed, air-breathing 3.3 Lockheed SR71A Blackbird#617958 Eldon W. Joersz 28 Jul 1976 FAI Commercial 2.35 Tupolev Tu-144 Eduard Yelyan Nov 1970 (unofficial) Propeller-driven ~ 0.85 Piaggio P.180 Avanti Joseph J. Ritchie, Steve Fossett 6 Feb 2003 FAI Piston-engined 0.69 Grumman F8F Bearcat (modified)Rare Bear Lyle Shelton 21 Aug 1989 FAI Electric 555.9 345.4 0.45 Rolls-Royce AccelSpirit of Innovation Steve Jones 19 Nov 2021 FAI Helicopter 0.33 Westland Lynx 800GLYNX John Egginton 11 Aug 1986 FAI Glider (sailplane) 0.25 SchemppHirth Nimbus4DM Klaus Ohlmann (pilot), Matias Garcia Mazzaro 22 Dec 2006 FAI Airship 0.09 Zeppelin LuftschifftechnikLZ N07100 (DLZFN) Steve Fossett (pilot), HansPaul Ströhle 27 Oct 2004 FAI Human-powered 0.03 Musculair 2 Holger Rochelt 2 Oct 1985 FAI Ground effect vehicle See entry under . Mars aircraft - Ingenuity (uncrewed) 12 Oct 2023 (unofficial)

Noted unofficial records

Watercraft

+ Water speed records Category Speed(knots) Speed(km/h) Speed(mph) Vehicle Operator Date Certifier Refs Water speed record Spirit of Australia Ken Warby 8 Oct 1978 UIM Propeller-driven Problem Child Daryl Ehrlich 22 Nov 2009 IHBA, GWR Wind-powered Vestas Sailrocket 2 Paul Larsen 24 Nov 2012 WSSRC Hovercraft Universal UH19PJenny II Bob Windt 1 Jan 1995 WHF, GWR Human-powered Decavitator Mark Drela 27 Oct 1991 IHPVA Human-powered submarine Omer 5 Sebastien Brisebois,Joel Brunet 28 Jun 2007 ISR Ground effect vehicle Korabl Maket"Caspian Sea Monster" Soviet Navy ca. 1966–1980 (unofficial) "This large aircraft has flown at 650 km/h (350 knots) ..." Underwater vehicle There is no officially recognized speed record for underwater craft, due to the secretive nature of military vessels. In 1968, a Soviet reportedly tracked an American carrier group traveling at . Uncrewed torpedo speed claims range from for the British Spearfish torpedo to for the Russian VA-111 Shkval.

Spacecraft

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. 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, at a point of closest approach (periapsis), or during the early stages of atmospheric entry.

+ Space speed records Frame of reference Category Speed relative to frame of reference Vehicle Operator Crew Date Refs km/h km/s mph Sun Periapsis Parker Solar Probe NASA (uncrewed) 24 Dec 2024 Earth Escape New Horizons NASA (uncrewed) 19 Jan 2006 Entry Stardust NASA (uncrewed) 15 Jan 2006 Entry (crewed) Apollo 10 CSM Charlie Brown NASA Thomas Stafford, John Young,Eugene Cernan 26 May 1969 Mars Entry Mars Pathfinder NASA (uncrewed) 4 Jul 1997 Jupiter Orbit insertion Juno NASA (uncrewed) 4 Jul 2016 Entry Galileo NASA (uncrewed) 21 Sep 2003 Saturn Periapsis Cassini NASA (uncrewed) 27 Apr 2017

See also Orders of magnitude (speed)

References