Boys and their toys. It sounds like an extract from a spy movie. After the purse dried up for the UK based Company Bloodhound Programme Ltd., in 2018, the project was left with a financial shortcoming of £25 million.
In March 2019, entrepreneur Ian Warhurst stepped in to rescue the project. He told BBC in an interview. “My kids keep saying I should go and buy a fast car, and I like to joke that I went and bought the fastest,” he said.
“It was a very hard fight to create the Bloodhound car, the largest STEM programme in the UK, the public engagement programme and the 1,000-man-year desert preparation,” commented Richard Noble. “Our weakness had always been financing and now after Administration, with Ian Warhurst the team finally has the financial support it needs to drive forward with confidence and achieve what we set out to do nearly 12 years ago.” He said.
Richard Noble, himself a world land speed record holder, was involved with the Aerodynamics of the Bloodhound since 2007.
A monopropellant Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine rocket will produce around 90kN of thrust accelerating the car to 800 mph. For the 1,000 mph runs, the Nammo hybrid rockets assisted by a third engine, a Jaguar supercharged V-8, will be used as an auxiliary power unit and will drive the oxidizer pump for the rocket. This will produce a total of 212 kN.
The team plans to take the Bloodhound SSC for a trial run in South Africa where a 12 miles long track has been cleared on the Hakskeen Pan in the Mier area of the Northern Cape. There the team of Bloodhound SSC will attempt a test-drive for a speed of 800mph. The current world record holder, Andy Green, a RAF pilot, will also be in the cockpit as the intended driver.
With a planned acceleration from 0 to 1,000 mph in 42 seconds in the final record attempt, The Bloodhound SSC is really a BIG toy for boys.
