page_title: Land speed racing
section_title: 1960–present wheel driven cars
hierarchical_section_title: Land speed racing / Records by class / 1960–present wheel driven cars
caption_attribution_description: Burlkand 411 Streamliner 2008
context_page_description: Land speed racing is a form of motorsport.
  Land speed racing is best known for the efforts to break the absolute land speed record, but it is not limited to specialist vehicles.
  A record is defined as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs. Under current FIA rules, two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, over a timed mile and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated. Records are set in either the flying kilometre or flying mile. Motorcycle land speed racing requires 2 passes the same calendar day in opposite directions over a timed mile/kilo for AMA National Land Speed Records while FIM Land Speed World Records require two passes in opposite directions to be over a timed mile/kilo completed within 2 hours.
context_section_description: There is no "wheel-driven" category as such.  The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile validates records in a variety of classes, of which the "wheel-driven" classes are in Category A (Special cars) and Category B (Production cars).  The accepted record is fastest average speed recorded over any one-mile or one-kilometer distance, averaged over two runs in opposite directions (to factor out wind) within one hour of each other.  The most recent wheel-driven record holders have been from a variety of different classes within Category A.
  In 2008 Tom Burkland broke the piston-engined wheel-driven record for the flying mile, recording a speed of 415.896 mph (669.320 km/h). He drove the Burkland family streamliner powered by two 450+ cubic inch-displacement supercharged  Donovan engines (bought second-hand), with crankshafts bolted together nose-to-nose, running on methanol.
  In September, 2010 George Poteet made an attempt to break the piston-engined wheel-driven record for the flying mile and flying kilometer. His car, Speed Demon, built by Ron Main, is powered by a 299 cu in (4,900 cc) aluminum block 'Hellfire' V8, built by Kenny Duttweiler. Their effort was thwarted by a number of parts failures.  The team stated their intention to return in 2011 to set a record over 450 mph (724 km/h), and at the 2011 Bonneville Speed Week, Poteet achieved 426 mph (686 km/h)
  In 2012, the Target 550 team of Marlo Treit and Les Davenport planned to raise the record for this class to more than 500 mph (800 km/h) in Viking 31, built by Jim Hume. Powered by two Dodge hemis with Whipple supercharger, it has a frontal area of 8.61 sq ft (0.800 m²) and is more than 40 ft (12 m) long. The model was tested in the Western Washington University wind tunnel, with assistance from Dr. Michael Seal.
  In 2018 the Flashpoint Streamliner exceeded the record but was disqualified after being destroyed on its second lap, as two full successful laps are required to set a record. The car reached 436 and 451mph on each lap, but was destroyed on the second lap as a result of a tire failure.
caption: Burkland's 411 Streamliner, driven by Tom Burkland on the Bonneville Salt Flats, holds the current piston-engined wheel-driven land speed record
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