About the show

Whether it’s driving a supersonic car or travelling at 300 mph in a boat, people’s adrenaline pushes them to reach higher plains and higher speeds.

Speed travels the world, meeting desert racers, speed skiers, test pilots, skydivers and astronauts, including speed heroes like Chuck Yeager, Richard Noble and Michael Schumacher. Speed attempts to discover why some people continuously strive to push the limits – of their bodies and their incredible machines.

Most people get all the adrenaline they can handle from a rollercoaster ride, but there are others who seem to have been born with a need for speed that cannot be satisfied by everyday thrills. In this programme, meet the men and women who reach beyond the limits of human ability. Are they superhuman or are they supertrained?

In the past 100 years mankind has broken more speed barriers than at any other time in history. This film follows the development of the most incredible speed machines ever seen and discovers how past barriers were broken. Speed meets both old and new record-breakers, as well as those who are still prepared to risk all to become number one.