Richard Noble

Who is Richard Noble?

Richard Noble, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur who was holder of the land speed record between 1983 and 1997. He was also the project director of ThrustSSC, the vehicle which holds the current land speed record, set at Black Rock Desert, Nevada in 1997.

Thrust2, the record-breaking car driven by Noble, travelled at 633.468 mph. The accomplishment won Noble the 1983 Segrave Trophy. ThrustSSC, the supersonic car driven by Andy Green, broke the record at 763.035 mph or Mach 1.02. Noble is planning another land speed record attempt to take place in 2013 or 2014: Bloodhound SSC aims to pass the 1,000 mph mark.

Noble was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and educated at Winchester College and became a qualified pilot. In 1984 he exploited a production hiatus at Cessna aircraft to create a new all-British light aircraft, the ARV Super2. The Super2 was fitted with a new British engine, the Hewland AE75. Only 35 ARVs were made before the Isle of Wight factory closed. Production was planned to resume at Opus Aircraft in North Carolina, USA but this project appears to have stalled.