The 5 Fastest Wheel-Driven Cars on Earth. How Do You Push Tires Past 480 mph?

August 2020, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. A gold streamliner called Speed Demon leaves the timed mile at 481.576 mph. No piston-powered car has ever been clocked faster: at that speed it crosses a football field in less than half a second. And yet it isn't the fastest wheel-driven car on Earth, and that run isn't even the number that counts. These are the 5 fastest wheel-driven cars ever timed, where the power goes through the tires, not out of a jet nozzle, ranked by the only number that makes a record: the two-way average. Burkland 411, Challenger 2, Vesco Turbinator, Speed Demon and Turbinator II. And how you push a tire past 480 mph, and why a 503 mph run doesn't count. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 Bonneville, 2020: 481.576 mph in one run 1:12 The benchmark: Goldenrod, 409.277 mph (1965) 1:48 The rules: two runs, one average 2:12 #5 Burkland 411: 415.896 mph (2008) 3:35 #4 Challenger 2: 448.757 mph (2018) 4:46 #3 Vesco Turbinator: 458.44 mph (2001) 5:58 #2 Speed Demon: 470.016 mph (2020) 7:22 #1 Turbinator II: 482.646 mph (2018) 8:40 How you push tires past 480 mph 9:16 Let's put the pieces together Two-way averages from the FIA, SCTA and USFRA record books, cross-checked with NHRA, The Drive, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin, the Salt Lake Tribune, State of Speed, Motor Authority and The Henry Ford. Two-way averages are OFFICIAL, single runs DISPUTED, horsepower CLAIMED by the teams. 💬 Should a record be the average of two runs, or the fastest speed a car ever reached? Tell us which side you're on. 🔔 Subscribe to Lights Out Five — Five cars. One finish line. 🎥 Footage (Creative Commons Attribution / public domain) BLMUtah · public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Dr. Fast · CC BY:    • CMR Bonneville: COOKIE at World of Speed, ...   ,    • CMR Bonneville Wairua 1 Record Morning Run...   ,    • 2018 Bonneville Speed Week, Car 46 Mariani...   ,    • 2018 Bonneville Speed Week, Car 581 C/GR N...   HORIZON · CC BY:    • Cinematic FPV Flight | DJI AVATA 2 | Bonne...   Hermann Luyken · CC BY: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Max Dom · CC BY:    • Klaus Borrmann Mad Reaper Bonneville 2016   Minwoo Kim · CC BY:    • Bonneville Salt Flats   Noel P · CC BY:    • Studebaker staging to run at Bonneville Sa...   Prelinger Archives · public domain: https://archive.org/details/6175_Film... , https://archive.org/details/6175_Film... Project '64 World Speed Record Mini Cooper S · CC BY:    • 156mph in a 1964 Mini Cooper S at Bonnevil...   ,    • 156mph in a 1964 Mini Cooper S at Bonnevil...   SOME MO' · CC BY:    • Bonneville Salt Flats  | 4K Cinematic Trav...   born1945 · CC BY 2.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... twonulator · CC BY:    • Poteet and Main Speed Demon Taking Off   ,    • Fjastad / Kinne / McNeil A/RMR #777   ,    • Streamlined 1350cc   ,    • Streamlined 1350cc Pre-stage   ,    • Open Wheel BF Car   🎵 Music: "Controlled Chaos", "Hitman", "Volatile Reaction" — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 — http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... #Bonneville #LandSpeedRecord #SpeedWeek