The Bloodhound rocket car is currently undergoing testing to perform a 1,000 mph run and set a land speed record.

It’s been a while since we last heard from the Bloodhound gang, the crazy British-built rocket car with aspirations of breaking the 1,000-mph barrier. They were in danger of going bankrupt last year after their financiers all pulled out, but a wealthy British entrepreneur stepped in at the last second to save the project.

Now that it’s been almost a year later, Bloodhound LSR is ready to reveal their new and improved speed demon. It’s still got a Eurojet EJ200 turbofan as its heart and a Jaguar F-Type R-sourced V8 as its auxiliary power plant, but to break 1,000 mph, it’s going to need a bit of help in the form of an actual rocket. Y’know, the kind that sends people into outer space. Only this time, it’ll be kept on the ground. Hopefully.

Bloodhound
via The Bloodhound Project on Facebook

The Bloodhound is at the Hakskeenpan desert racetrack in Northern Cape, South Africa. There, a massive dry lakebed has been cleared of debris by the Northern Cape Provincial Government and members of the local Mier community. It was a monumental task, requiring the removal of 16,500 tonnes (or 18,200 tons) of rock from 22 million square meters (or 236 million square feet) of dry lakebed.

RELATED: Bloodhound Project Saved From Cancellation, 1000 MPH Vehicle Wants To Hit Crazy Speed

Testing is currently underway to determine the size of the rocket that will be required to push the Bloodhound to 1,000 mph. To that end, runs are being performed incrementally starting at 500 mph to determine the car’s drag profile. Sensors all around the fuselage create a 3D computational fluid dynamics model which will determine the amount of thrust needed to reach their goal.

The team is also testing the car’s newly developed aluminum wheels which are designed to withstand forces of up to 50,000 times that of gravity. They’ll also test the car's brakes, air brakes, and drag parachutes during the runs.

If all goes well, we should see a record attempt sometime next year.

(Source: Bloodhound LSR)

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