1,000mph car to wow Autosport show
As far as inspiration goes, there are few cars more awe-inspiring than the 1,000mph Bloodhound SCC - which hopes to take the land speed record crown from the ThrustSCC; a car that hit 763mph in 1997.
But more than being just a speed machine, the Bloodhound's ultimate goal is to get fledgling engineers more interested in pursuing careers in the motoring industry. To that end, government Science Minister Lord Drayson will today (January 9th, 2009) take the podium at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham's NEC and give his stamp of approval.
The Bloodhound, to be piloted by Wing Commander Andy Green, will reach a top speed of 1,050mph in just 40 seconds from standstill. That's around 15 seconds less than it takes a Bugatti Veyron to reach a quarter of that speed.
It's the EJ200 engine (normally found in a Typhoon Eurofighter jet) powering the Bloodhound, combined with a hybrid rocket, that Lord Drayson will be focusing on. And it's that kind of cutting edge technology that he and the Bloodhound team hope will intrigue young scientists enough to get involved in developing similar technology in future - as well as encouraging partnership between motorsport and the aerospace industries in the shorter term.
