The Bloodhound Land Speed record project has been around under various names for more than 10 years now. It was announced in 2008, and the intention then is the same as it is today: go 1,000 mph on land, in a car. Over the last decade the Bloodhound team has been working toward that singular objective, and today they revealed the car that will undergo testing at the Hakskeenpan desert racetrack in Northern Cape, South Africa.
After reports of the project’s death in December of last year, a new buyer stepped in, and less than 12 months later we have our first look at what the finished version of the car could look like. This is the first time the car has been seen in “desert spec” with its brand-new bespoke, precision-machined solid aluminum wheels. They measure just over 35 inches in diameter, weigh 198 pounds each, and are designed to withstand forces of up to 50,000 g. More technical details can be found here, as many of the mind-blowing numbers this machine makes haven’t changed in the last several years.
More than 150 pressure sensors around the car will compile data while the car is running at high speed and contribute to computational fluid dynamic models to measure what kind of stresses the car will be under during the high speed run. The forces will be massive, no doubt. Test driver Andy Green, who has already claimed a land speed record, will experience forces of up to 3 g (three times his own body weight) during acceleration runs.
As part of the effort to (literally) clear the way for the 1,000-mph run, the Northern Cape Provincial Government and members of the local Mier community removed more than 35,000 tons of rock and dirt from more than 236 million square feet of dry lake bed to make sure the surface the Bloodhound runs on is flat and smooth. It’s the largest area ever cleared for a motorsport event, and the stage is now set for the Bloodhound LSR to undergo some testing.
Bloodhound expects a world record attempt in 12 to 18 months.