Bloodhound team going for the 1,000mph land speed record

Driver Andy Green and his team will try and beat his own previous land speed record of 760mph (1,223km/h) by gunning for the 1,000mph (1,609km/h, about Mach 1.3) mark in 42 seconds. You may be thinking what could possibly propel someone from 0 to 1,000 without ripping their face off? An aircraft engine? Try a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine.

The EJ200 engine creates more than 20,000 pounds of force which would be enough for some record breakers. Not for Green and his Bloodhound team, as they have coupled this with a hybrid rocket which pumps out a combined thrust of up to 47,500 pounds of force. Putting that into perspective, it would be equivalent to the power of 180 F1 cars.

What those big engines will be propelling is a 950kg, 12.8-meter long vehicle which was carefully designed with aerodynamic research using computational fluid dynamics to create a shape that would be stable at supersonic speeds and controllable sub-sonic velocity. This is finished off in an aerospace paint usually seen in civil and military aircrafts.

As of yet, they haven’t specified a date for their record attempt as they say it all depends on funding. If you’ve got an insatiable need for speed, try breaking the Bloodhound’s speed record. That should cool you nerves for a bit.

Check out the picture gallery after the jump for high-res pictures.

[zenphotopress number=999 album=1351]

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Jacob Alexander

Jacob Mathew Alexander has been a motoring nut for as far as he can remember and has recently turned his passion into writing. After spending some time in the same industry in the UK, Jacob's work is from a slightly different perspective.

 

Comments

  • I’more curious to know what tyres are they using that can withstanding that kind of heat and friction travelling at 1,000 mph. Most rubber would be thorn to bids

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    • paparadzi on Jul 23, 2010 at 1:59 pm

      The tyres will most be probably made from some kind of metal, just as previously with their Thrust SSC.

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    • mobil on Jul 23, 2010 at 2:29 pm

      I’m curious whether the tyres are function or not under the speed of 1000mph. The car can be designed that the tyres are off the ground when crusing at such high speed. So, wouldn’t it be same as ‘aeroplane’ in theory? Any friction incurred by the tyres will slow down the overall momentum.

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      • boss coffee on Jul 23, 2010 at 3:22 pm

        All 4 wheels must be in contact with the ground during the attempt. If not then it’s not considered a car and ruling body can negate the record.

        So yeah, 4 wheels is needed to be in contact.

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      • 4G63tDSM on Jul 23, 2010 at 3:54 pm

        To qualify for a land speed record, the vehicle must maintain contact with land on some rolling stock. In this case, a metal alloy or stainless steel.

        Don’t remember if it says anything if it has got to steer the car though.

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    • There is no rubber, it’s solid aluminium wheel

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  • it looked like an inverted, shrinked F-16 fuselage lol.

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  • jolly_idiot on Jul 23, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    I wonder they have such a long track to propel up to 1000mph?

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    • clone on Jul 23, 2010 at 8:46 pm

      there are Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA which are previously used as a venue to set land speed record back in 1997.

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    • clone on Jul 23, 2010 at 8:49 pm

      or if you want, you may choose Bonneville Speedway in Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.

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