What's the history on this one...?

[trimmers]

Maybe Chris Mursick's K-G  in G/CFALT AT 132.287, at least for unblown.

Jeff in Boise

[PorkPie]

Whenever I talk with people about the Trust SSC and the record....I always saying, it was not the car who broke the record and the sound barrier....
it was the driver Andy Green.....
the rear wheel steering got a special reason which has something to do with the concept of the car.....and minor mistakes in the design

I spoke with Andy Green several years ago at the Goodwood Festival of Speed centennial. I had a lot of negative experience designing rear-wheel steering powered wheelchairs - inherently unstable. So, I asked him about his experience with the rear-wheel steering on the jet car. He told me it was awful. What saved the project was that he could accelerate so quickly to a speed where the aerodynamics overcame the wheel steering and stabilized the car. With the much slower power wheelchairs, we could correct with the electronic controls. When I saw him ogling my car I felt honored. When he told me about his high speed runs I understood how brave, and skilled, he is.

[gowing]

when it's all said and done.....
 the fastest car on the planet has rear wheel steering.

whatever anyone may say about it's "minor design mistakes", the concept has proven it's worth.
Scary to drive?  I'd guess so, probably as scary as driving any vehicle 763 mph.

[manta22]

In 2006 Andy Green was at Bonneville driving the JCB diesel streamliner and the JCB team was quite hospitable to me (I had a chance to tour their support vehicles, and talk to Ron Ayres, etc) so I invited Andy to our Salt Talks on Sunday. He showed up and we had a chance to talk about various things, including Thrust SSC. I asked him how he got used to the rear wheel steering on that streamliner. He replied "I never did, really."

[Rex Schimmer]

Jack Costella's little white and yellow motorcycle streamliner was a "head forward, lay on your belly design. It went pretty fast also 150+ with a 125 cc engine and 198+ with a 250 cc engine.

The engine in the VW car is interesting. Looks like the fuel injection is from 8 cylinder, probably a BMW, that uses the Kugle-Fisher variable displacement injection pump. For the 1970 that is pretty neat stuff.

Rex