Supersonic Bloodhound SSC to ride again

A lofty British attempt to drastically reset the world land speed record has been reignited after a new financial backer stepped in to revive the project, following an apparent shutdown of the 1600km/h project.

The Bloodhound SSC supersonic car, developed by a team that benefitted from the support of organisations such as the British Ministry of Defence and Rolls-Royce, aims to crack an earth-bound 1600km/h (1000mph).

Following a five-year development period that started in 2000, the Rolls-Royce jet-engined car was originally intended to line up for its first record attempt, in the hands of current world land speed record holder and former RAF fighter pilot Andy Green, some time in 2017.

The current world land speed record of 1228km/h, which broke the sound barrier on land for the first time, was set in a twin-turbofan car driven by Green in the USA’s Black Rock Desert in 1997.

Bloodhound, which looks more than anything else like a fighter aircraft without wings, is powered by a Rolls-Royce engine from the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, which is able to deliver a peak thrust of 58,000kW and is fed fuel via a 410kW supercharged 5.0-litre Jaguar F-TTYPE V8.

In 2015, it was reported that more than $16 million had been invested in the Bloodhound project.

However, the mission came to a halt late in 2018 when it was announced that a financial investor able to ensure the continuation the project could not be found and Bloodhound Programme Ltd was put into the hands of administrators.

Then, 10 days later on December 17, the joint administrators announced that Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst had stepped up to secure, for an undisclosed sum, Bloodhound’s business and assets with the intention of taking the land speed record attempt to the next level.

According to Andrew Sheridan, who is joint administrator and a partner at FRP Advisory LLP: “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”.

Warhurst, who is said to have a “strong background in managing highly successful businesses in the automotive engineering sector”, is expected to outline details of his plans for the Bloodhound project in detail early in 2019.