Name of the Project
Bloodhound supersonic car (SSC) project.

Location
UK and South Africa's Northern Cape province.

Client
Bloodhound Programme.

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 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.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Value
R515-million.

Duration
The Bloodhound team announced in May 2018 that it expected to race in South Africa 2019, slowly ramping up to tackle the 1 600 km/h record in October or November.

Latest Developments
The Bloodhound has been bought out of administration and is back on track to set a new world land-speed record (LSR).

Under the new ownership of Ian Warhurst, CEO of Grafton LSR, the freshly assembled Bloodhound LSR team will focus on completing the development of the jet- and rocket-powered car and moving to the next phase of the programme – high-speed testing – as soon as possible.

The new name, Bloodhound LSR, accompanies a complete rebranding of the programme.

This includes a visual transformation of the car, which was revealed in a new red and white livery as she moved into her new home at SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC), in the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park, in March.

“Since buying Bloodhound from the administrators last December, the team and I have been overwhelmed by the passion and enthusiasm the public have shown for the project,” Warhurst has said.

“Over the last decade, an incredible amount of hard graft has been invested in the project and it would be a tragedy to see it go to waste.

“Starting with a clean slate, it’s my ambition to let Bloodhound off the leash and see just how fast this car can go. I’ve been reviewing the project and I’m confident there is a commercial business proposition to support it. I’ll provide robust financing to ensure there is cashflow to hit the high-speed testing deadlines we set ourselves.”

Warhurst is joined in his efforts by driver and current world LSR holder Andy Green, engineering director Mark Chapman, chief financial officer Rick Sturge, operations director Martyn Davidson and commercial director Ewen Honeyman, as well as many of the original mechanics and technicians, providing continuity from the old programme to the new.

“It was a very hard fight to create the Bloodhound car, the largest science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme in the UK, the public engagement programme and the 1 000-man-year desert preparation,” notes former Bloodhound Programme CEO Richard Noble.

“Our weakness had always been finance and now, after administration, with Ian Warhurst, the team finally has the financial support it needs to drive forward with confidence and achieve what we set out to do nearly 12 years ago.”

The current LSR is 1 227.98 km/h.

The Bloodhound project aims to hit speeds of 1 600 km/h at a specially built, 18 km long, 1 500 m wide race track at Hakskeen Pan, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.

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

On Budget and on Time?
Project Bloodhound is again active under new ownership, after having been briefly halted, owing to a lack of funds.

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