The Bloodhound supersonic car (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.
The current land-speed record, set 20 years ago, is 1 228km/h.
“As things currently stand, we will not be deploying in 2018,” says Bloodhound team communications director Richard Knight.
“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 develop- ment of the rocket that will be used, in conjunction with the EJ200 jet engine to power the 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 needs to raise the funds to complete the car, and to mount a two- to three-month international logistics 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,” says Knight. “We have a number of other large deals under discussion, so we expect to have more good news to follow soon.”
“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, the weather is a factor we have to consider, as Hakskeenpan is a registered water course that can flood for extended periods between . . . November and April.”
The two runway trials at the Newquay airport 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.