The world land speed record of 1 228km/h is under threat. The Bloodhound LSR car has arrived at Hakskeenpan, a dry salt lake bed in the Northern Cape, and over the next month a 25-strong crew will run tests that may see it exceeding 500 miles per hour (805km/h).
Within 12 to 18 months the team behind the project plans to beat the world record and then attempt to top 1 000mph (1 609km/h), said Jules Tipler, a spokesman for the UK-backed project.
“The high-speed testing will be conducted using the car’s Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, usually found in a Eurofighter” plane, according to a statement. The thrust will be equivalent to the power produced by 360 standard-sized cars, it said.
The world record is currently held by Thrust SSC, a British-built jet-powered car that became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier in 1997 at Black Rock Desert in Nevada. — Reported by Antony Sguazzin, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP