When it seemed the bar couldn’t possibly be pushed any higher (or faster), a South African father-and-son duo has done it again, reclaiming the Guinness World Record for the world’s fastest drone. For the third time in two years!
Cape Town, South Africa (08 January 2026) – Luke Bell and his dad, Mike, have been chasing speed for more than two and a half years now. They’ve been building, testing and rebuilding drones, chasing one very ambitious goal. Making them the fastest on the planet.
Their first Guinness World Record, set in April 2024, clocked in at 480.23km/h. It didn’t last long. A Swiss engineer, Samuele Gobbi, raised the stakes with a 557.64km/h run. That only sent the Bells back to the drawing board. They came back with a newly-improved build that pushed the record even further to 585km/h.
Then came October last year.
An aerospace engineer from Australia, Benjamin Biggs, took the title yet again with his quadcopter Blackbird, reaching a staggering 626km/h in Melbourne.
For Luke and Mike, being bumped back down to second-best was all the motivation they needed to get their new and improved quadcopter up in the sky.
“Fortunately for us, for the past five months we’ve been working on improving every aspect of our drone,” Luke explains.
Throughout months of meticulous work, Luke and Mike tested three different motor types and launched each setup to determine which delivered the best performance. They ran simulations using air-shaping software to refine the drone’s profile, then 3D printed the parts, assembled everything, sanded for hours, and trimmed propellers to squeeze out extra speed.
The payoff came in December when their Peregreen V4 build hit 657km/h and officially reclaimed the Guinness World Record for the fastest battery-powered remote-controlled quadcopter.
The rivalry is far from over.
“I’m aware this has been beaten already,”writes previous Guinness World Record Holder, Biggs, “But I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. Stay tuned – 700km/h is the next target.”
Biggs is already hinting at another attempt, and the pressure is back on. Knowing Luke and his dad, a fourth record attempt might not be far off if the title changes hands again. Let’s go fast!
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