Hot on the trail! 1,000mph ‘bullet’ car put to the test
ABRITISH car designed to reach 1,000mph – faster than a handgun bullet – has been tested in public for the first time at a more modest 200mph.
Bloodhound SSC was driven by ex-RAF fighter pilot Andy Green along the runway at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
Experts at Swansea University have been instrumental in the project’s success to date, having been a key technology provider since day one in the early concept stages back in 2007.
It accelerated from 0-200mph in eight seconds during the first of two runs.
More than 3,000 spectators witnessed the exercise, which was used to prove the vehicle’s steering, brakes, suspension, data systems and other functions.
The team behind the car say it is a combination of a fighter jet, a Formula One car and a spaceship.
It is fitted with an EJ200 jet engine, sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
The car will attempt to break the land-speed record in South Africa in 2019.
In 1997 Mr Green was the driver for the Thrust SSC team as they set the current record of 763mph.
Bloodhound SSC is designed to reach 1,000mph in a bid to set a record that cannot be beaten by existing technology.
Speaking after the Newquay test was completed, Mr Green said: “We came here to show the world Bloodhound is go.
“I cannot think of a better way to do it than that run. Two backto-back runs, the longest runs we’ve done, the highest speeds we’ve done, the most energy going into the brakes.
“The car just said: ‘I can do all of this. I’m designed for supersonic speed but this I can do easily’.”
Dr Ben Evans, associate professor in aerospace engineering at Swansea University and a member of the Bloodhound SSC design team, said: “Swansea University’s involvement in the Bloodhound Project has been fundamentally important to the project since its inception.
“Over the past 10 years we’ve worked to develop the aerodynamic shape of the car, which is why it looks the way it does today.
“The trials at Newquay were a proud milestone in the history of the project, and we’ve taken an important step in taking Bloodhound forward in its attempt to break the world land-speed record, and making it the ultimate land-speed record-holder.”