Bloodhound supersonic car set for high-speed tests in South Africa with an eye at 1,000mph

July 11, 2019July 8, 2021 Samuel Abuya 0 Comments Bloodhound, High-speed tests, Racing, South Africa, Supersonic car

The Bloodhound supersonic car, which is designed to hit as high as 1,000mph, is set to land in South Africa for a series of high speed tests in the specially prepared track in the country later this year.

The Bloodhound will take the tests in the Hakskeen Pan track where an estimated 300 members of the local Mier community had to move at least 16,500 tonnes of rock to pave way for the 12-mile desert track for the October tests.

In 2007, Bloodhound hit speeds of 200mph at Cornwall Airport Newquay and all eyes are now set for the South Africa tests where it is expected to clock at least 500mph after which the supersonic car wil try to break the land speed record of 763.035mph. Once that is achieved, the Bloodhound team will turn their focus on hitting their dream speed of 1,000mph.

The supersonic car — The Bloodhound supersonic car. Photo courtesy

Last year, the renowned entrepreneur Ian Warhurst came into the rescue of the project buying it as well as its assets but in an amount that was never disclosed to the public.

“I’m thrilled that we can announce Bloodhound’s first trip to South Africa for these high-speed testing runs,” Warhurst said. “This world land speed record campaign is unlike any other, with the opportunities opened up by digital technology that enabled the team to test the car’s design using computation fluid dynamics and that will allow us to gather and share data about the car’s performance in real time,” he added.

Warhurst is also excited that the car will be running on a totally new surface that was specifically prepared for it and the fact that the wheels of the car have also been made particularly for the South Africa’s desert-lake bed. However, he added that it will be important to test the wheels at high speeds before making the record speed runs.

Bloodhound is expected to up to ten runs during the testing in South Africa.

It is expected that the data of interaction between base drag measurements and the aluminium wheels that are being used for the first time will give insights on the power that will be required in order for the Bloodhound to set a new record.

Some of the team behind the Bloodhound supersonic car. Photo courtesy.

The car is fitted with more than 300 sensors and cameras that with be used to gather information that will be shared with academicians at Swansea University and their students for analysis. They have been invited to do the analysis.

According to Bloodhound driver, Pilot and Royal Air Force Wing Commander Andy Green, the supersonic car and its speed tests is basically “where science meets reality and it all starts to get generally exciting”.