Bloodhound SSC: 1,000mph car secures funding for world record bid
The UK-based project aims to challenge the land speed record in 2019
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Your support makes all the difference.The Bloodhound SSC world record bid is back on after the 1,000mph land speed record car received the investment needed to push forward with its attempt.
A shortage of funds had forced the Bristol-based project to go into administration in October, with the company saying it needed around £15 million to continue with the project and break the current record.
Earlier this month, administrators of Bloodhound Programme, the company behind Project Bloodhound, announced that efforts to secure the funding had not been successful.
Following the announcement, the company said Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst came forward and agreed to buy the business and its assets for an undisclosed amount.
"We have been overwhelmed by the passion that clearly exists for Bloodhound and are thrilled that we have been able to secure a buyer who is able to give this inspiring project a future," Andrew Sheridan, a joint administrator of Bloodhound Programme, said in a statement on Monday.
"We would particularly like to thank the Ministry of Defence and Rolls Royce for their support and collaboration throughout this process, without which it would not have been possible for the project to be in a position to continue."
Bloodhound SSC will use a combination of engines and rockets to take it up to 1,000mph, including a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine, a hybrid rocket, and a Jaguar F-Type V8 engine to pump fuel into the rocket.
The vehicle is expected to take just 55 seconds to go from zero to 1,000mph, while a variety of air brakes, wheel brakes and parachutes will help bring it to a stop.
In the cockpit will be Andy Green, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot who was also at the helm of current World Land Speed Record holder ThrustSSC when it reached 763mph in 1997.
The land speed record attempt in Bloodhound SSC was previously scheduled to take place in South Africa in 2019, though an exact date is yet to be announced.
The Bloodhound SSC underwent its first public testing in October 2017, reaching speeds of 200mph along the runway at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
"We came here to show the world Bloodhound is go," Mr Green said at the time. "The car just said: 'I can do all of this. I'm designed for supersonic speed but this I can do easily."
The Bloodhound Project is aimed at not just breaking the land speed record, but also inspiring students to get involved in STEM subjects.
One of the stated objectives is also to "share an iconic research and development programme with a global audience."
More details about the future of the Bloodhound project are set to be announced in the New Year.
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