Land speed record holder Andy Green OBE honoured as part of Guinness World Records 60th anniversary By Kevin Lynch

Land speed record holder Andy Green OBE honoured as part of Guinness World Records 60th anniversary
By Kevin Lynch
Published 09 December 2014

To commemorate 60 years of the much loved Guinness World Records annual and record-breaking organisation, a series of short original films is today released, celebrating some of the most iconic records that have been documented over the past six decades.

The series, hosted on the Guinness World Records YouTube Channel, includes never before seen contributions from truly great record holders such as Andy Green OBE and his fellow land speed racer Richard Noble OBE, Lord Sebastian Coe, Sir Roger Bannister, Sir Richard Branson and Sir Ranulph Fiennes to name just a few.

Andy Green: “You can’t hear your own shockwave. That’s what it’s like in a jetfighter, that’s also what it’s like in a supersonic car, which unfortunately means I’m the only person in history that has never had the opportunity to hear a car make a sonic boom!”

This fascinating land speed record film tells of the twist of fate which lead RAF pilot Andy Green to discover the project and ultimately pilot the trailblazing, 100,000 horse power Thrust SSC, which reached a staggering 763.035 mph (1,227.985 km/h), Mach 1.020, on 15 October 1997.

Including original contributions from Green and former record holder and project director on the land speed SSC programme Richard Noble OBE, the film also charts the history of the land speed record, as well as details some of what the future may hold for the team.

The iconic records featured in this compelling 13-part series include the Fastest Land Speed Record, First Sub-Four Minute Mile, Highest Mountain, First Trans-Atlantic Crossing in a Hot Air Balloon, Tallest Dog and Fastest 100m, records that have been the driving force behind so many great human achievements and much admired by fans over the last 60 years.

Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records Editor in Chief, said of the anniversary: “This original series of films is a celebration of – and thank you to – the remarkable record-breakers who’ve literally changed the world with their determination and dedication. It’s also a fitting way of commemorating our 60th anniversary and looking back at how much the world has changed – or in some cases, as with Robert Wadlow, the tallest man of all time, stayed the same – over the past six decades.”