Bloodhound SSC: Race to 1,000mph
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The British-engineered Bloodhound Super-Sonic Car (SSC) will attempt to break the 1,000mph (1,600km/h) barrier and set a new land speed record on a dried-up lake bed in South Africa in 2017

DESIGN: Aerodynamic shaping allows car to withstand speeds of up to Mach 1.4 – faster than bullet fired from Magnum 357 handgun

Hakskeen Pan: Venue for record bid
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BOTSWANA NAMIBIA SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Johannesburg LESOTHO Pretoria SWAZI-LAND

300km 200 miles
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EVOLUTION OF LAND SPEED RECORD (turbojet and rocket propulsion)* USA GBR

Spirit of America 846km/h (1964)

Green Monster 927km/h (Nov 7, 1965)

Spirit of America Sonic 1 966km/h (Nov 15, 1965)

Blue Flame 1,001km/h (1970)

Thrust 2 1,019km/h (1983)

ThrustSSC 1,227km/h (1997)

Bloodhound SSC

mph 200 400 600 800 1,000

BLOODHOUND SSC FACTS

Length of car 13.47m

Weight (fully fuelled) 7.8 tonnes

Turning radius 120m

Top speed 1,050mph (1,690km/h)

0 to 1,000mph (1,609km/h) 55 secs

Race track length 12 miles / 19km

Driver: RAF fighter pilot Andy Green – holds current land speed record and was first person to break sound barrier on land, driving ThrustSSC
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CONSTRUCTION: Car houses three engines, providing 135,000-hp in total – equivalent to over 1,200 family saloons or 160 Formula 1 cars

Front section: Carbon fibre monocoque provides driver with rigid safety cell

Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 jet engine Provides nine tonnes of thrust

Intake duct Jet fuel tank

Wheels: Solid aluminium, rotate at 10,200 rpm. Rims subjected to 50,000G
of centrifugal force

Auxiliary power unit 550-hp Jaguar supercharged V8 engine drives pump 
for rocket fuel

Rear chassis Aluminium and titanium construction

Rocket engine 12 tonnes of thrust

Air brakes: Used to slow car down at end of run. Parachutes and disk brakes also used
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Sources: Bloodhound Programme Ltd, FIA

Picture: Getty Images

*Fastest speed achieved by vehicle

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