On Schedule for a Land Speed Record

We’ve been anticipating a new land speed record that would be set by the team that has built the Bloodhound SSC, but that anticipation has been met with delays and setbacks for several years. The jet and rocket powered car were originally expected to make a historic run at a new land speed record in 2015 but that was met with repeated delays and some investor issues along the way. With the most recent announcement, it seems the team is ready to offer us a car that can finally reach a number never seen in the past.

Just recently the delays were talked about but the goal was set to find a way to make the record-setting run in the summer of 2018. This would require testing runs along the way, the first of which would have to take place in October of this year. As of the most recent announcements, this team is poised and ready to make its first test run on schedule and will be able to showcase the car with this initial run which will hopefully show that this car is ready to take on the challenge of becoming the fastest car on land by a large margin.

The current land speed record is held by the Thrust supersonic car that was driven in 1997 by Andy Green. Green is a British Royal Air Force fighter pilot and he was able to rocket the Thrust to the speed of 763 mph. While the team of the Bloodhound SSC looks to beat that record, they aren’t looking for just a small win, they want Green behind the wheel and have set a goal of a land speed record of at least 1,000 mph, which would absolutely crush the previous record by 237 mph or more.

The Bloodhound SSC is powered by a series of rocket engines and a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine that was taken from a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter. The fuel pump alone is powered by a 550 horsepower supercharged Jaguar V8 engine. This is a car that has been the dream of the team to build and certainly shows how much power it will take to make this car rocket to the speed desired. The car itself looks like a rocket that was laid down and had wheels added under the belly in order to have a way to drive on the road or on the dry beds that will be used.

Currently, the scheduled test run of this car will take place at the Cornwall Newquay airport in England on October 28. The team is offering spectator tickets to this event, which shows their confidence in what the Bloodhound SSC will be capable of doing when it makes this run. This is a great opportunity for those who are planning a holiday in the fall to see what a supersonic car looks like and to purchase tickets to the event that will be part of land speed history, at least for a time.