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, 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 one-year countdown until the British Bloodhound team will attempt to set a new land speed record at Hakskeen Pan, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, has begun.

The current land speed record is 1 228 km/h, set in 1997 by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, who will also pilot the Bloodhound in 2017.

The first attempt at breaking the record is set at 1 287 km/h, before gradually working towards 1 609 km/h in 2018.

Bloodhound chief engineer Mark Chapman has said one of the biggest challenges in breaking the record will be how the Bloodhound will interact with the desert surface.

“The desert is as much part of the car as any part of the car.”

He has said it is important to break the record by steadily increasing the speed, rather than gunning for the 1 287 km/h mark at its first attempt, to gather and interpret data on how, for example, the solid aluminium wheels interact with the soil.

“The drag of the car is also unknown. We can’t put the car in a wind tunnel. We will now have to see if all our computational work is correct.”

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Castrol (lubricants, brake and hydraulic fluids), Poynting (antennas).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Mettle PR on behalf of Bloodhound, Jules Tipler, tel +44 7811 166 796 or email jules.tipler@mettlepr.com.