The quest to build the fastest car in the world, to drive faster than anyone else in the world has been going on since cars were first made. Here in Australia we know Rosco McGlashan only too well with his Aussie speed attempts. The holder of the world land-speed record is visiting Australia at the moment and took time out to talk to EFTM’s Trevor Long.
Andy Green on the Bonneville flats with the Bentley Mulsanne
Just what is it that drives a man whose day job is to fly fighter jets, to spend his downtime setting world land-speed records? How do we inspire a generation of new engineers and innovators among our children. These are just a couple of topics we discuss in this feature interview.
Andy Green has been recruited by Bentley to be part of its program of Visionaries – ambassadors for the huge $700,000 Mulsanne, and what better way for Andy to experience the Mulsanne than by taking it to the very place he set that land-speed record.
Andy Green on the Bonneville flats with the Bentley Mulsanne
Way back in 1997 at the Bonneville salt-flats Andy piloted the Thrust SSC (Supersonic Car) to the speed of 763 miles per hour, to be the first to break the sound barrier – and that record still stands today. So as part of the Bentley Visionaries program where an elite group are making videos about a range of topics, Bentley drove a Mulsanne to Bonneville and handed it over to Andy.
Andy Green on the Bonneville flats with the Bentley Mulsanne
Andy describes this to me as “an extraordinary opportunity to take an astonishing car out to the home of the land-speed record and see how fast it would go”. He was surprised to discover just how fast that was – “The car is supposed to do 180 miles per hour or so, but it actually got up to 190 plus, so it actually went faster than the book says which is nice”
In this chat, Andy talks about the future of the land-speed record, the quest to 1000 miles per hour. The full interview is available to listen to below:
