Supersonic Car Set For Bristol

• News
• Published: 24 Nov 2009 in Motoring and Car Insurance

Needing slightly more than standard fully-comprehensive car insurance cover, the British team behind a bid to break the world land speed record have announced the 1,000mph vehicle will be built in Bristol.

The Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC), which uses a het engine from the Eurofighter Typhoon and a prototype hybrid rocket to hit its top speed, will be shipped to the South Africa for the record attempt in 2011.

It will be piloted by Wing Commander Andy Green, who previously broke the world record by achieving a speed of 763mph in Thrust SSC in 1997.

Work on the car, which has gone through 10 design changes in its brief history, will now commence at the "Dog House" - a site in Bristol Docklands next door to the SS Great Britain.

The hybrid rocket is the largest ever designed in the UK- weighing 400kg and measuring 14ft long. Working together with the EJ200 jet engine, the rocket will give the car a thrust equivalent to the power of 180 Formula One cars.