London: A car that can travel at 1600 kph sounds unbelievable. But its true. It took eight years of research design and precise production techniques that enthusiasts in London, did is impossible. Its aptly named the Bloodhound! It took a of collective effort of over 350 companies and universities. While various industry majors including Castrol and Rolex are providing high tech fuel and instruments respectively, a team of Formula 1 and aerospace experts from the Royal Army’s have brain stormed to let the product take its final shape.
On Thursday, London’s Canary Wharf saw a gigantic and awe-inspiring piece of engineering- the much awaited Bloodhound SSC that can produce 135,000 hp of power, enough to take the speedometer beyond the 1,288kmph (800mph) mark with ease! The car will be the centre-piece of a free exhibition at the London venue which is expecting a footfall of over 8000 people. The car is set to break the current world record of land speed of 1,228 kmph (763mph) in South Africa next year. Also, the team aims at setting an almost invincible one of 1,609kmph (1000mph) in their another attempt in 2017.
The complete 13.5m streamliner uses jet and rocket motors, which include a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine along with a supercharged Jaguar V8 engine, to produce around 135,000hp thrust. This is as much as seven times the power output of all the cars in Formula 1 combined. Bloodhound SSC has a 2m high tail fin to stabilize the vehicle at high speeds. The carbon fibre panels on one side of the world’s most powerful vehicle out for display have been partially removed in order to show the technology inside the car.
The cockpit of Bloodhound SSC is a huge and complex monocoque shell crafted from multiple layers of carbon fibre to save anyone sitting inside, equipped with a sophisticated digital dashboard, designed by the driver, as well as manual back-ups for the major controls.
The super speed vehicle designed to race up to 1,609kmph (1000mph) in 55 seconds has three separate braking systems, seven fire extinguishers and 500 sensors, to keep an eye on the performance of the car during each high speed run.
