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In 2011, a British team aims to shatter the current land speed record of 763 mph. The team is currently working on a project known as Bloodhound SSC and aims to break 1000 mph without leaving the ground.
To accomplish the team’s goal of cracking 1000 mph, the vehicle is powered by an EJ200 Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine as well as an 880-lb. rocket. The team calls it a “jet over rocket” configuration, and designed it to make the car more stable at the insane speeds it will reach. Combined, the jet engine and rocket put out the equivalent of 133,150 hp.
In order to cope with the huge forces present, the car will be made out of aerospace grade aluminum. This will ensure the car does not simply disintegrate once it reaches 1000 mph, as the same material is used to build fighter jets. As with most recent land speed vehicles, the Bloodhound SSC seems to be more closely related to fighter jets than to any other wheeled vehicle.
Design of the Bloodhound SSC began in October 2008, and the vehicle has since undergone 10 iterations. The tenth iteration is the version currently being developed to set the land speed record. The original plan called for a 200-kg rocket positioned above the jet engine to overcome the aerodynamic drag. However, this version however couldn’t overcome the drag and destabilized the vehicle, leading to the larger rocket and different configuration.
When the team goes for the land speed record in 2011, fighter pilot Andy Green will be at the wheel. The record attempt will occur in South Africa in the Hakskeen Pan. It’s a 12-mile stretch across a flat, dried-up lake that allows for a 10-mile run with a 1-mile runoff on either end.
Source: Bloodhound SSC, Autocar
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