For those looking to show up the Bugatti owner down the street their moment has come as the 448mph Challenger 2 land speed record car from 1968 is going up for auction. Mecum's January Kissimmee auction is heating up with a number of unique entries including Steve McQueen's Mustang GT 390 and now the fastest piston powered car ever made. The car is estimated to bring in around $900,000 to $1,100,000, still cheaper than a Chiron, though there's no chance for license plates on this car.

Aborted 60's Record Run

via thedrive.com

The car, built in 1968 to take on the land speed record, was meant to be piloted by off road legend Mickey Thompson. Thompson was able to do a number of test runs at around 400mph before rains flooded the flats making a run impossible. Mickey Thompson had designed the car with Kar Kraft.

Second Chance

via newatlas.com

After the aborted attempt the car went into storage, eventually finding itself in the hands of Mickey's son Danny. In 2018 the younger Thompson refurbished the car and took it back to the salt flats at Bonneville for another attempt, scoring a world record run of 448.757 mph.

Engineered for Speed

via newatlas.com

Thompson and Kar Kraft employed a team of speed experts to create the record breaking car. The chassis had input from Indy car designer Quinn Epperley and drag racer Pat Foster. It's powered by two 500 cubic inch V8 engines that drive all four wheels. The 32ft long vehicle has two 30 gallon tanks to feed the thirsty beast. If you're interested in this record breaking land speeder head on over to Mecum next month.

Source: Mecum