COVENTRIANS flocked to the city’s transport museum last week to see the man who 40 years ago became the fastest on earth as he met up with ‘an old friend’- the car that made his momentous achievement possible.
On October 4, 1983 Richard Noble piloted the Thrust 2 as it sped through the Nevada desert, reaching average speeds of 633.468mph and setting the land speed record, which it held until 1997.
To mark the anniversary, Richard reunited with the vehicle, which is now homed at Coventry Transport Museum.
He later answered questions from petrolheads, posed for photos, and held a book signing in the venue’s gift shop.
Richard said: “Being back here and seeing the car again has been fantastic, but it’s been even better seeing the team again.
“We’ve lost a few of them, forty years is a long time, but it’s been wonderful catching up with everyone else.
“We were a very tight team and we had to fight to overcome so many obstacles. You put your faith in the team so they become everything and my job was to deliver.”
“These things are so important for Britain. We need engineers in this country and this is what Thrust is all about.
“But we have to back people in this country to get things like this done, which unfortunately Britain isn’t always very good at, so it can be a huge battle, but, it brings real value.”
