Bloodhound SSC (Super Sonic Car) has gone through 10 design evolutions since the project started, culminating in the largest hybrid rocket ever designed in the UK.
Weighing 400kg, 45cm in diameter, and 4.25m long, it is the same length as an F1 car.
The rocket is designed to produce 27,500lbs of thrust. Together with 20,000lbs from the EJ200 jet engine, this will give the car the equivalent of 135,000hp, or the power of 180 F1 cars.
The Bloodhound’s other features include a cockpit designed by its driver Wing Commander Andy Green, based on his experience flying fighter jets and on the cockpit of his previous World Land Speed Record car Thrust SSC. Lockheed Martin UK has been developing 90cms diameter aluminium wheels design to ensure they can withstand forces of 50,000 radial g at the rim and support a 6.5 tonne car travelling at 1050mph (1690kph).
The Bloodhound SSC team has also announced its runs will take place in the Hakskeen Pan desert, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa – where the regional government has promised to clear a 12-mile track.
Construction of the car will now begin at the new Bloodhound Technical Centre in Bristol, or ‘the doghouse’ as it has been informally named.
