UNITED KINGDOM: Design for the world's first 1000 mph (1609kph) car The Bloodhound SSC unveiled

Record ID: 783597

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Design for the world's first 1000 mph (1609kph) car The Bloodhound SSC unveiled
  • Date: 21st July 2010
  • Summary: FARNBOROUGH, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK (19 JULY, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAR BEING UNVEILED VARIOUS OF WING COMMANDER ANDY GREEN, RAF, TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) WING COMMANDER ANDY GREEN, RAF, BLOODHOUND SSC DRIVER SAYING: "Fantastically exciting for us finally to see the shape of Bloodhound SSC out in public for the first time. We have fixed the shape. We managed that a few months ago. Now we know, because of the modelling we have done, we know this shape will go to a thousand miles an hour. Now we are actually going to get on and build it." BRITISH / SOUTH AFRICAN FLAGS ON FRONT OF CAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) WING COMMANDER ANDY GREEN, RAF, BLOODHOUND SSC DRIVER SAYING: "Here we are at Farnborough, Farnborough International Air Show, we have got all these fantastic aeroplanes around us, this is the fastest thing here. We're going to be quicker than any of them." VARIOUS OF THE CAR EJ200 JET ENGINE VARIOUS OF FARNBOROUGH AIRSHOW VARIOUS OF TYPHOON DISPLAY
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Science / Technology,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVA70A7E43LI5XN4X53G1RVLF4ED
  • Story Text: The British team behind a plan to smash the current land speed record has unveiled the design of the car it hopes will travel at more than a thousand miles an hour. Three years in the planning, construction of the Bloodhound SSC, or super-sonic car, is about to start, with the record attempt slated for 2012 in South Africa.
    "We have fixed the shape," said Andy Green, the Royal Air Force fighter pilot who will drive Bloodhound, "because of the modelling we have done, we know this shape will go to a thousand miles an hour. Now we are actually going to get on and build it."
    The same team, lead by Briton Richard Noble, holds the current record of 763 mph (1300 kph) set in 1997. Then, Green became the first man to travel at supersonic speed on land. If the car achieves its intended speed it will also break the current low-level air speed record.
    "Here we are at Farnborough, Farnborough International Air Show, we have got all these fantastic aeroplanes around us, this is the fastest thing here. We're going to be quicker than any of them," said Green, unveiling a full size model of the car.
    Powered by a combination of a Typhoon fighter's jet engine and a Falcon rocket the car will develop 135,000 horse power or 180 times the power of a Formula One car. The record attempt, on a dry lake bed, will see it accelerate from stationary to 1000 mph (1609kph) in 4.5 miles (7.25km) in 45 seconds and car will be stationary again 10 miles (16 km) and 100 seconds later.
    The team say their target is intended to not only break the land speed record, but also to inspire the next generation of engineers and technologists. One and a half million British school children are involved in the Bloodhound Education programme.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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