Road block for land speed record attempt

THE COMPANY behind the Bloodhound supersonic car that aims to hit speeds of 1,000mph has entered administration.

Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the firm behind land speed world record bid, fell into administration yesterday.

Project Bloodhound was founded in 2007 with plans to race the car at a speciallybuilt track in the deserts of South Africa.

The team is now seeking a further £25m investment to provide guaranteed funding and see the project to completion.

Mark Chapman, the project’s chief engineer, inset, said: “Bloodhound has had enormous success in creating the world’s most advanced land vehicle.

“This project is built around the most successful team in the history of land speed racing, and with the right support we have no doubt that the project will achieve its aims and could be racing for the record in as little as 10 months.” For the last 11 years, the project has operated on a partnership and sponsorship model with support from companies including Rolls-Royce and Rolex. The Ministry of Defence has lent prototype jet engines for the car and Northern Cape Provincial Government in South Africa supported the creation of the track.

Members of the public have also donated to the car’s development alongside a global education programme, which has encouraged more than 2m children to consider engineering careers.