Driver Craig Breedlove set a world land speed record of 407.45 mph on August 5, 1963. His vehicle, the Spirit of America, was powered by a General Electric J47 turbojet engine. That same year, The Beach Boys referenced the Bonneville Salt Flats in their song “Spirit of America” and sang about “a jet without wings.”
Breedlove’s high-speed run across the blinding white expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats completely revolutionized the engineering world by proving that jet propulsion was the future of land speed records. The Spirit of America was essentially a fighter jet cockpit mounted on three wheels, relying entirely on the immense, raw thrust of a military turbojet engine rather than a traditional wheel-driven axle. Operating the experimental vehicle was an incredibly perilous gamble; at over 400 miles per hour, even the slightest pocket of rough salt could cause the wingless jet to lose traction and launch into a catastrophic airborne roll, making Breedlove’s record a historic triumph of modern aerodynamics and pure driver nerve.
