Blink and you miss it. If you happen to be in the Hakskeenpan desert in South Africa these days, then you cannot have missed the sight of a rocket-shaped car whooshing by at incredible speeds. It’s the Bloodhound LSR, as it goes up and down the desert floor during its pre-record attempt runs.
Three tests of the car have been conducted so far, and more will follow, as the Bloodhound aims to break the world speed land record set by Thrust SSC at 763.035 mph (1,227.9 kph) back in 1997.
The team behind the project calls each test Profiles. During Profile 1, the machine was subjected to a static engine test and then a run at 100 mph (161 kph) to get a feel of the steering and brakes. The Profile 2 followed, a test during which the car equaled the top speed it set at Newquay in 2017, namely 200 mph (322 kph).
It was during the Profile 3 though that all the magic happened: for the first time since final assembly, the Bloodhound reached a top speed of 334 mph (537 kph), giving the team enough confidence that the 500 mph (800 kph) barrier they’re targeting in South Africa will be reached.
The speed in itself is not as spectacular as the way it was achieved in. The car uses a RollsRoyce EJ200 jet engine fitted on one of Europe’s most widespread fighter jets, the Eurofighter Typhoon. And it comes complete with an afterburner.
The afterburner was engaged and ran for 12 seconds during this high-speed attempt, accelerating the Bloodhound from 50 to 300 mph (80 to 483 kph) in just 13 seconds.
“We’ve had two very successful runs today, with the second run reaching a max speed of 334 mph – going from 50 mph to 300 mph in 13 seconds,” said in a statement Bloodhound driver and the holder of the current world land speed record Andy Green.
“There was strong crosswind gusting at over 15 mph and we’ve established that this is pretty much the limit for running in the car. We’re happy because this was a successful test, now we’re ready to progress on to higher speeds.”
Andy Green will make an actual attempt at breaking his own record sometime in 2020.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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