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In Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace, we are introduced to the sport of Galactic Podracing. These podracers are supposed to be capable of insane land speeds, but we aren't told in the movie (that I'm aware of) what those speeds are.

In the game, Star Wars - Episode I: Racer for N64, podracers are commonly depicted as going anywhere from 400 KPH to upwards of 1400 KPH on certain zero G tracks, and with top level engine components. The Wikipedia article on levels of Star Wars canon is somewhat vague about whether or not these speeds are canonical, however. On one hand, background information from games is considered C canon, whereas statistics are N-canon. Are speeds statistics? I don't know.

TL;DR: What is the canonical speed of a podracer? Is there a better source than Racer? Are the speeds in Racer canonical?

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  • 700 KPH from memory... (in the race during the phantom menace) – user8252 Oct 22 '12 at 7:03
  • @als which scene is that in? – AncientSwordRage♦ Oct 22 '12 at 7:26
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    @Pureferret in the novel, I think. – user8252 Oct 22 '12 at 7:40
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    Surely someone has gone frame-by-frame through TPM and measured the number of pod-racer-lengths per second, and then measured Qui-Gon-Jinns per pod-racer, and looked up Liam Neeson's height. It's all quite straightforward, if very time-consuming. – Rex Kerr Oct 22 '12 at 10:15
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    Why do people want to close this? Wookiepedia is not a good site for canon, this question should not solicit debate or polling, and neither is it ambiguous, vague or overly broad! This is a good question! – AncientSwordRage♦ Oct 22 '12 at 20:54
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According to the Episode I Incredible Cross Sections, it lists Anakin's pod having a top speed of 947 kph and Sebulba's having a top speed of 829 kph. I don't know if that is considered acceptable canon, but Wookieepedia seems to treat that source as such.

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According to the Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know factbook, Anakin's racer was capable of a top speed of 947kph (588mph).

Podracers must be small and light, with nerves of steel and super-fact reflexes.

947kph - Maximum speed of Anakin's winning podracer in the Boonta Eve Classic

This ties in nicely with the speeds referred to in the Star Wars: Episode I Incredible Cross-Sections factbook

DATA FILE - SEBULBA'S PODRACER
Engine manufacturer/type: Collor Pondrat Plug-F Mammoth racing engines, fitted with Split-X ram air/radiator intakes
Engine length: 7.47 m (24 ft)
Max. speed: 829 kph (515 mph)
Max. repulsorlift altitude: 85 m (275 ft)
Fuel: Tradium power fluid pressurized with quold runium, activated with ionized injectrine

DATA FILE - ANAKIN'S PODRACER
Engine manufacturer/type: Radon-Ulzer 620C racing engines, modified heavily by Anakin Skywalker
Engine length: 7 m (23 ft)
Max. speed: estimated 947 kph (588 mph)
Max. repulsorlift altitude: 105 m (350 ft)
Fuel: Straight Tradium power fluid activated with injectrine, no additives

And the Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I factbook

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