Thrust SSC supersonic car and team. Testing took place here at Farnborough, UK, in 1996. On October 15th 1997, in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA, Thrust SSC became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier. Piloted by Andy Green (right, born 1962), Thrust SSC achieved speeds of over 1227 kilometres per hour (kph) over a mile and over 1223 kph over a kilometre, breaking the speed of sound on both runs. Team leader Richard Noble (left, born 1946) had himself set a land speed record in 1983.