Bloodhound supersonic car shooting for 1,000 MPH and new Land Speed Record
Click above for gallery of the 1,000-mph Blackhound SSC
The current land speed record (LSR) for an earth-bound motor vehicle is 763 mph, which was set by Andy Green behind the wheel of the Thrust SSC back in 1997. That car was designed by Richard Noble, among others, and he and his driver are teaming up again to build a new supersonic car (SSC) to shatter the old record on its way to a new LSR of 1,000 mph. The new car is called the Bloodhound Project, a curious name since "speed" doesn't readily come to mind when thinking about that particular breed of canine, but whatever. The new Bloodhound SSC will be powered by three engines: a hybrid rocket, Eurojet EJ200 jet engine and 800bhp V12 engine, the latter of which will pull the vehicle around at low speeds and act as a starter motor - the world's most powerful starter motor - for the jet engine. The car's design is also completely different from that of the Thrust SSC, which Green and Noble used to set the current LSR. That car had two outboard jet engines, but in order to reach speeds of Mach 1.4 on the ground, the Bloodhound SSC will use a narrower fuselage that's been aerodynamically optimized to safely travel at speeds approaching 1,000 mph. Since this is an engineering exercise, the Brit-based Bloodhound team will gear up to their ultimate goal by scheduling successive runs to reach 800 mph in 2009, 900 mph in 2010 and finally 1,000 mph in 2011. You can read more about the car from Noble himself at the project's website, or check out the current design mockup in our gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Qkthr!Gallery: 1,000-mph Bloodhound SSC
[Source: BloodhoundSSC.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Berto 12:17PM (10/23/2008)
We might finally get that flying car we were promised 50 years ago...
of course, it might be unintentional.
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kent 12:20PM (10/23/2008)
Looks like an SR-71, sans wings. I'm thinking they should probably include some kind of wings.
Flashpoint 1:19PM (10/23/2008)
Land Speed Records being set by...*ahem*...ROCKET CARS don't interest me at all.
I'm interested in land speed records set by INTERNAL COMBUSTION VEHICLES like Veyron and Enzo.
ROCKET CARS are ridiculously powerful and faster than many airplanes. Build me a Veyron that can break the sound barrier and THEN I'll plop down $5,000,000
In fact, thats a really cool GOAL. Can a car be built that drives like a regular car but CAN BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER.
Greg 6:49PM (10/23/2008)
@ Flashpoint,
Actually, the Veyron and cars that you can actually buy are nowhere near the land speed record for cars powered by an internal combustion engine. That title belongs to the Goldenrod which drove 409.277 MPH in 1965.
Flashpoint 9:07PM (10/23/2008)
Greg
WRONG.... the Goldenrod had 4 ENGINES...not a single engine.
Maybe I should have been MORE SPECIFIC since people on weblogs like to try and make it appear they are smarter than everyone else...
I want to see a SINGLE ENGINED. internal combustion, production car set land speed records in its class.
Is that enough for you?
3seriesisking 12:18PM (10/23/2008)
I'm just glad knowing that I won't be the one in the cockpit. Godspeed to whoever is though....
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Quattrofan 12:21PM (10/23/2008)
Yeah, but thats one hell of a way to go.
3seriesisking 5:48PM (10/23/2008)
Indeed it is my Audi friend. You can be sure you wouldn't feel it.
imirk 12:21PM (10/23/2008)
talk about nucking futs
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Quattrofan 12:23PM (10/23/2008)
Yeah, but thats one hell of a way to go.
spdracerut 12:25PM (10/23/2008)
I wondering what the wheels are going to look like/be made of. Sure as heck aren't going to be tires on them. So how many rpms is that for the wheels at 1000mph?!
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gmpphotography 1:50PM (10/23/2008)
The wheels are solid aluminum discs, just like on the Thrust SSC
jeepnautique 2:21PM (10/23/2008)
according to the article i read on cnn.
"The wheels on the jet- and rocket-powered car, which will be 12.8 meters long and weigh 6.4 tons, will spin at more than 10,000 times per minute."
RxMadness 12:25PM (10/23/2008)
Awesome, it's named after my e-mail... and my dog. This has a cool factor of 7 megafonzies.
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den in IN 12:27PM (10/23/2008)
I agree, this might be a good time to try a pre-programmed robotic operation or at least remote.
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MachinaDC5 12:34PM (10/23/2008)
I hope that when the rocket engages the driver goes "VTEC JUST KICKED IN!"
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Jake 12:39PM (10/23/2008)
Yeah, but let's see some 'ring times..
j/k!
I wonder where they will attempt to runs.
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Parkerman 12:46PM (10/23/2008)
They just need to acquire a Saturn V rocket and put some massive wheels on it.. lol
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JayP 12:48PM (10/23/2008)
With cajones that big, how will Andy Green sit in the cockpit?
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Mobius_1 1:16PM (10/23/2008)
800bhp starter motor... Damn!
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