http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16901484

It's Australia versus Britain as two teams battle it out to build a car that can hit 1,000mph.

Twenty seconds. That is how long an Australian-built supersonic rocket-propelled car will take to go from 0-1,000mph.

That is equivalent to just over 1,600km/h or one-and-a-half times the speed of sound.

Your average jumbo jet ambles along at half that speed. But this is not your standard car - it does not even have doors.

It has a hatch into which at some point over the next 12-18 months, Rosco McGlashan will squeeze himself to try to propel the machine to the speed target.

The machine has a name: Aussie Invader 5R. It is the fifth Aussie Invader Rosco McGlashan has built.

"It's all I've ever wanted to do, set the world land speed record at 1,000mph. It's my life," the Perth resident said.

But the 62-year-old is not alone in his pursuit of the high-speed holy grail.

The British are also chasing the target, in a car called Bloodhound SSC.

Bloodhound also has pedigree. The director of the project is Richard Noble and the driver/pilot is Andy Green