Project Blackbird Seeks New Land Speed Record
The American team aims to surpass 800 mph to reclaim the title for the United States.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Performance Vehicles
Live Poll
Should the United States prioritize funding projects aimed at reclaiming international speed or research records?
The Project Blackbird team is working to build a vehicle capable of exceeding 800 miles per hour to beat the current land speed record. This initiative seeks to bring the record back to the United States, which has not held the title since 1970.
Why it matters
The project represents a major engineering effort to surpass the current world land speed record of over 763 miles per hour. Successfully hitting these targets would mark a historic return for American automotive innovation on the international stage.
The vehicle must feature four wheels and a human driver to qualify for the record, with a target speed of 800 miles per hour. The team also aims for a supersonic capability of 921 miles per hour.
The players
Ray Dausman
A rocket engine advisor who previously helped set a land speed record in 1970.
Bill Marquardt
The Florida-based lead of the Project Blackbird land speed record team.
Nathan Marks
A team member working on the engineering development of the Project Blackbird vehicle.
Carson Slabaugh
A technical contributor involved in the effort to design a vehicle exceeding 800 mph.
The details
To set a new record, the vehicle must complete two official runs to establish a verified average speed. The project utilizes rocket engine expertise from Ray Dausman, who previously contributed to the 1970 success of The Blue Flame at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Current plans involve constructing the vehicle in Lafayette and performing initial wind tunnel testing on a scale model in Florida before testing in the Alvord Desert.
Timeline
October 1970 marked the setting of a prior record by The Blue Flame.
The Home Front
This effort follows the historical precedent set by The Blue Flame, which established a benchmark for American land speed records in 1970. The project aims to challenge the longstanding international record currently held by Great Britain.
While these engineering feats occur in testing deserts and wind tunnels, homeowners interested in automotive history can track the project's progress via official updates. Visit the project portal to follow how the team scales their design from models to a full-sized vehicle.
The takeaway
The engineering team is focused on recapturing a record that has been held by Great Britain since the 1970s. Interested enthusiasts can follow the team as they move from wind tunnel testing to construction in Lafayette.
Further reading
Learn more about high-speed engineering in our Performance Vehicles section.
More information
View the latest project technical updates at the Project Blackbird information portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by InkFreeNews.
Live Poll
Should the United States prioritize funding projects aimed at reclaiming international speed or research records?
