Name of the Project
Bloodhound supersonic car (SSC) project.
Location
UK and South Africa.
Client
Founder sponsors include Swansea University, the Engineering and Sciences Research Council, the Serco group, the University of the West of England and STP.
Project Description
The project involves the construction of, possibly, the world’s fastest car.
The SSC is an amalgamation of car and aircraft technology, with the front half being a carbon-fibre monocoque, similar to that of a racing car, and the back half being a metallic frame, with panels like those of an aircraft. It will weigh more than seven tonnes and is expected to reach a speed of more than 1 600 km/h.
The Bloodhound will have a slender, 14-m-long body, with two front wheels mounted within the body and two rear wheels mounted externally within the wheel fairings.
Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.
Value
R515-million.
Duration
The Bloodhound is expected to make its 1 609 km/h run in 2018.
Latest Developments
The Bloodhound SSC will, most likely, not travel from the UK to South Africa’s Hakspeenpan in 2018 to attempt a new world land-speed record of 1 600 km/h.
“As things currently stand we will not be deploying in 2018,” Bloodhound team communications director Richard Knight has said.
“The car is coming together well and the team is excited about running it in front of a global audience at the Newquay airport, in the UK, in October. Once we complete the trials, attention will focus on completing the development of the rocket that will be used, in conjunction with the EJ200 jet engine, to power Bloodhound SSC to a new world land-speed record.”
However, the timeframe in which this work can be completed depends not only on funding, but also on the availability of rocket engineers and test facilities, which are both unknown at this time.
The team still need to raise the funds to complete the car, and to mount a two to three-month international logistic and desert campaign.
Oracle Cloud Solutions recently joined the project and the team is expected to announce another international brand partnership ahead of the Newquay test.
“Good progress is being made on the sponsorship front . . . We have a number of other large deals under discussion, so we expect to have more good news to follow soon,” Knight has said.
“The track at Hakskeenpan is in superb condition, with comparatively little work left to do to prepare it for record breaking,” he adds.
“In planning our visit to South Africa weather is a factor we have to consider, as Hakskeenpan is a registered watercourse that can flood for extended periods between the months of November and April.”
The two runway trials at the Newquay Airport, in the UK, will mark the culmination of a month of tests to check the car’s steering, brakes, suspension and data systems, as well as the efficiency of the intake feeding air to the EJ200 jet engine, sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon.
The event will be open to the public on October 28.
Key Contracts and Suppliers
Castrol (lubricants, brake and hydraulic fluids), Poynting (antennas).
On Budget and on Time?
The land-speed record attempt has been postponed to 2018. Initially planned for 2015, the UK-driven record attempt has faced a number of deferments, owing largely to budgetary constraints.
Contact Details for Project Information
Mettle PR, on behalf of Bloodhound, Jules Tipler, tel +44 7811 166 796 or email jules.tipler@mettlepr.com.