A 1000 mile per hour record breaking supercar is being built in Britain ready to smash the world land speed record a year from now in the winter of 2015/2016.
The massive Bloodhound will combine a high-performance internal combustion engine, much like those in your run-of-the-mill supercar, with a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine and a rocket engine, something which has never been done before. All three engines have been used separately, but the team behind Bloodhound felt that they needed to up the ante to hit the 1000 mph holy grail.
There was a time when rocket science and land speed records were things that happened in the USA. But coming into the 21st century the Brits have got their noses out in front. Starting with Thrust 2 in 1983, then Thrust SSC in 1997, the UK has held the land speed record for over thirty years and the Bloodhound project team uses much of that experience. In fact Wing Commander Andy Green, the current world land speed record holder, is a big part of the team.
The word team must be used loosely as a number of organisations including aerodynamics, rocket propulsion and ceramics experts are involved in constructing and testing parts of the car all around the world. Although the car will be built in the UK and driven by a British pilot, a member of the red arrows no less, it is a truly international effort with American bodywork, a Norwegian rocket and a final run in South Africa. The schedule is tight with less than a year to go and the car still looking very much like a jet engine strapped to a piece of scaffolding, but everyone involved with the project is positive.