On November 17, 1966, American land-speed racer Art Arfons climbed into one of the most terrifying machines ever built for the Bonneville Salt Flats. His vehicle, the Green Monster, wasn’t an ordinary race car. Arfons had built it around an afterburning General Electric J79 jet engine taken from an F-104 Starfighter. He even incorporated the steering gear from an old truck into his homemade machine.

Then, while traveling at approximately 981 km/h (610 mph), disaster struck. A bearing on the right-front wheel seized, causing the Green Monster to suddenly lose control. The vehicle began tumbling violently across the salt flats and continued wrecking itself for more than a mile.

When rescuers finally reached Arfons, the scene looked catastrophic. The vehicle was destroyed, while Arfons was dazed and bloodied. Yet somehow, he was alive.

Even more astonishingly, his injuries were relatively minor considering what had happened. He suffered cuts, bruises and severe friction burns from the rough salt surface, but survived what Guinness World Records recognizes as the fastest car crash anyone has survived.

The Green Monster itself was almost as extraordinary as its driver. Arfons had purchased the military-surplus J79 engine from a scrapyard and rebuilt it despite having no access to its classified technical manuals at the time.