- Who
- Alan van der Merwe
- What
- 397.483 kilometre(s) per hour
- Where
- United States ()
- When
The land speed record (Formula One) is 397.483 km/h (246.984 mph), achieved by Alan van der Merwe (South Africa) for BAR Honda at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, on 20 July 2006. This record was ratified by the FIA.
Honda’s Bonneville 400 project was a marketing-driven exercise to see if a Formula One car could be adapted to reach 400 km/h. The modified Honda RA106 was driven by the team’s development driver, Alan van der Merwe, who in 2009 would go on to become F1’s Medical Car Driver. At Bonneville, der Merwe achieved an FIA-ratified flying kilometre of 397.483 km/h and a flying mile clocked at 397.370 km/h. During testing in the Mojave Desert, however, the team managed to reach a speed of 413.205 km/h
