Andy Green aims to remain the fastest man on land in jet-powered supersonic car
The Bloodhound is designed to travel at 1,000 mph and it is driven by the fastest man on earth. Can it set a new supersonic world land speed record?
It generates more horsepower than 180 Formula One cars, produces 20 tonnes of drag, and is capable of breaking the sound barrier. But what do you actually do with the world’s fastest car?
For the producers of the Bloodhound jet- and rocket-powered vehicle, the answer was to scour satellite images of the entire planet for a flat expanse of land long enough to drive it on – and thus attempt to break the world land speed record.
After an intensive search Hakskeen Pan, a place in the remote reaches of South Africa’s Northern Cape, was chosen and a stunning 5,000 tonnes of stones and rocks were picked up and moved off a 20-kilometre track.
So far, everything has gone smoothly in every sense, and after some initial testing on runways next year, the Bloodhound team will take its creation to Hakskeen Pan in 2015 to attempt some record-breaking supersonic speeds.
Over the last century, the world land speed record has been a battle between the US and Britain, but if the Bloodhound – which is made in Bristol in the southwest of England – succeeds it will simply be a “hold”.
