Aussie Invader - World Land Speed Record Challenger

24/10/2026

Motor racing stories are a very important part of Australia’s history. When Mark Read wrote my story he was contacted by the State Library of Western Australia and several historical societies, as a lot of what he had written had never actually been officially recorded before. It’s also brought into focus photographic records as well. Recently Mark has been working on restoring a lot of very poor quality photos. Remember some of the motor racing photos you possess may well be the only record of a particular event. Here are a few of the images that he has restored recently.

fans David Warby York Motor Museum Motoring Legends of Australia Scarf & Goggles Speed Record Club Aussie Garage

22/10/2026

Thanks Highlands - Experience the Exceptional. Great to meet everyone.

We had a legendary visitor at Highlands today. Rosco McGlashan OAM, “The Fastest Aussie on Earth,” stopped by while holidaying in Central Otago!

Rosco set the Australian Land Speed Record in 1994 with an official 500 mph run in his jet-powered Aussie Invader 2. He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1998 for his services to motorsport and for that record.

His CV reads like a list of dares: a rocket-powered go-kart that hit 253 mph, jet dragsters, jet funny cars and even a jet-powered truck.

He’s not slowing down either. Rosco is still building rockets on wheels, and his Aussie Invader 5R is built to chase the holy grail of 1,000 mph (1,600+ km/h). There’s even a Kiwi connection: Rosco worked with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck on early development of the car’s rocket motor. 🇳🇿🇦🇺

Thanks for stopping by, Rosco. It’s not every day a land speed legend walks through the door!

13/10/2026

On our visit to see our rocket friends in Auckland but with a heavy schedule, Cheryl and I still managed to find time to visit our great mates from Meremere Dragway and Pukekohe Hot Rod Club.
I first went to Meremere in the early 1970’s with Wally Pushkey, Earl Jordan and Bob Allsopp with our V8 motorcycle, Krazyhorse. Then in the 1990’s to 2000 with our jet dragsters Aussie Invader 1 & 4, match racing with American Joe Brown and his “Arizona Outlaw”.
I was privileged to be invited to Pukekohe Hot Club to give a presentation to their members of our racing history and the Aussie Invader 5R project. We reminisced on some of the unbelievable times we had with our Kiwi mates over the years forming long lasting friendships.

09/10/2026

Rosco is away in NZ for the next few weeks, working with Snowdon Consulting on the rocket engine setup. We hope to bring you some updates very soon. If you haven’t already signed up for our newsletter updates. Here is a link.

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02/10/2026

We had the great pleasure of entertaining the Edith Cowan University (ECU) motorsport team yesterday. We met some interesting young folk with involvement in various aspects of the motor racing industry, from mechanical, electronics, computer design, electrical, fabrication and composites. My jaw ached from answering the many great questions these young students asked. Hopefully we can entice some of them to be involved in the project.

30/09/2026

How do you actually break a World Land Speed Record?

It takes more than just building the fastest car. On the day it takes the right weather conditions and a lot of luck. Preparation and a team willing to get every detail right before a record run helps. These conditions all have to come together for about 60 seconds for each run.

Get behind the mission at aussieinvader.com

30/09/2026

Ingram Spark is offering a special discount on ROSCO, The Fastest Aussie on Earth. #1 Bestseller. 😀 AUS, UK & USA.

28/09/2026

Thanks UK for pushing this to #1 in drag racing.

28/09/2026

We welcomed Jon Beevers from HCS and his team to our workshop to view Aussie Invader 5R. Rosco presented to Jon and his team and they enjoyed a BBQ with Rosco, Cheryl, our newest Team member Ray and wife Diana on Friday. Jon won the bid to “Enjoy an Afternoon / Evening with Rosco” at the fund raiser auction held at the annual MLB “Making Life Better” Golf Challenge. Rosco has been a long-time patron for MLB and offers up an invite to our workshop. Many stories were told, questions asked. It was a great afternoon.

28/09/2026

Driving a car at 1000 mph takes more than nerve.

Rosco McGlashan has spent decades preparing for this exact moment, where engineering, timing and split second decisions all have to line up together. At these speeds there's no margin for error. However, split second decisions doesn’t always mean you have to do something. It could be doing nothing and riding it out is the right decision. Be prepared for the unexpected. It isn’t all going to go to plan!

Rosco’s story is full on these examples.

https://aussieinvader.com/drag-racing-world-land-speed-record-story/