Bloodhound SSC is the fastest land vehicle ever built. Image Credit: YouTube / Bloodhound SSC
The UK's Bloodhound SSC rocket car will be attempting to break the world land speed record in style.
Developed with the help of 280 companies worldwide, the incredible vehicle is equipped with petrol, jet and rocket engines to propel it to speeds exceeding 1,000mph.
To achieve this the vehicle will first use its Rolls-Royce jet turbine engine to take it up to speeds of around 300mph before activating its powerful rocket engine to propel it the rest of the way.
The vehicle's third engine, a supercharged V8 Jaguar F-Type, will be supplying the rocket with hydrogen peroxide fuel at it goes along.
Together the three engines will produce 133,151bhp - the equivalent to 180 Formula One cars, while propelling the car at a speed that will cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds.
The project is being headed up by Richard Noble, who reached 633mph in his turbojet-powered vehicle Thurst2 in 1983, and RAF pilot Andy Green who reached 763mph in ThrustSSC in 1997.
The new record attempt will take place at the Hakskeen Pan dry lake bed in South Africa and will be undertaken in two steps - one to reach 800mph on October 15, 2016 and another to exceed the all-important 1,000mph barrier at some point in 2017.
Sounds like a stunt for a Jackass movie. These guys are just looking for their 15 min of fame. Hopefully a successful 15 min and not one ending in tragedy.
yes the rocket propelled jet car is road legal, though you have to have special insurance to cover all the other cars on the road that you set fire to every time you accelerate... Also I really doubt that they're doing it for 15mins of fame. A bunch of scientists, engineers, and Jet Fighter pilots have better things to do than spend decades of time, tons of treasure and risk life and limb for a newspaper headline. I suspect its more the physical and technical challenge of doing it that gets them going. That and being utter speed freaks.
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