The unveiling of the 1000mph supersonic car in London!
8000 people were able to get close to the Bloodhound SSC this weekend before it began the journey to break the land speed record in South Africa next year.
After eight years of research, design and development, the car to be driven by Andy Green was the centre-piece of the exhibition held in Canary Wharf.
A selection of the outer carbon-fibre body panels were removed on one side to reveal the technology and configuration used inside the car, whilst the cockpit revealed a sophisticated digital dashboard.
The wheels are forged aluminium-alloy being 36″ in size.
The tail fin itself is 2-metres high and requires its own set of sensors (there are 500 sensors in total on the whole car).
1000mph…
With the use of a jet engine from a Eurojet E200, and a boost of help from rocket propulsion, the 13.5m long Bloodhound SSC aims to to reach 800mph in South Africa in October 2016. The 1000mph record attempt follows in 2017, with a total power output of 135,000bhp.
By itself, the jet engine will ‘only’ allow the Bloodhound to reach 650mph, but the hybrid Nammo rocket motor helps propel the car to its targeted record speeds.
The Bloodhound’s hybrid rocket motor is so large that Jaguar’s 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 (as seen in the Jaguar F-Type R and Range Rover Sport SVR) is solely required just to drive the Bloodhound SSC’s rocket oxidiser pump.
The 550hp engine pumps up to 40 litres of propellant per second – 3 seconds would be enough to fill your average bathtub!
Braking
The Bloodhound SSC uses a combination of three braking systems to dismiss the speed:
- Air-brakes for higher speeds,
- Brake-parachutes for medium speeds and
- Carbon wheel brakes for speeds <200mph.
A modified F-Type R used to test the brake-parachute system above 180mph was on display. Two of these parachutes will be used on the Bloodhound SSC.
Parachute Testing with an F-Type R Coupe AWD:
Fleet Vehicles
Custom built by JLR’s SVO department, the Bloodhound’s Rapid Response Vehicle fleet consists of two Long-wheelbase XJR’s and an F-Type R Coupe.
The F-Type-R medical car is used to transport the on-site medical Doctor, whilst the XJR’s have been converted for fire suppression and rescue equipment.
As well as fitting a full roll-cage, the 2016MY XJR has had the rear seats removed and replaced with six steel cylinders containing foam-misting fire-supressants, a hydraulic pump, motor and hose. A generator in the boot powers the tools to cut through the carbon-fibre bodywork of the Bloodhound:
With a 180mph top speed, it’s claimed that the XJ’s should reach any incident within 60 seconds.
For those wanting to experience how difficult it can be to drive in a straight line, the Castrol-EDGE – Jaguar Simulator provided a virtual reality recreation of covering a mile in 3.6 seconds.
The team’s six-wheel drive Supacat-Angloco support truck and Mission Control Trailer were also on show outside the venue.
Stats
| Dimensions (L x H) | 13.5m x 3.5m |
| Fuelled Weight | 7,750kg |
| 0 – 1000mph | 55secs |
| Amount of fuel used in 55secs | 1.5 tonnes |
| Time to cover 1 mile | 3.6secs |
| Equivalent to: | 4.5 Football pitches / sec |
And Andy Green’s face?
First World Motoring 