#wales #bloodhound #manufacturing #engineering #ukmfg After several years of preparation, Bloodhound SSC, the Bristol-built 1,000mph supersonic car, is starting to take shape ahead of next year’s world land-speed record attempt. Inside the small Harbourside workshop, a small team of mechanics has been riveting together the first physical part of the Bloodhound SSC car — the lower chassis.
Earlier this year, the team behind the project announced a delay with their schedule. They had hoped to take the car to the deserts of South Africa to attempt to break the current land speed record (763mph) this December, and return in 2014 to try to break the 1,000mph barrier. However, in March, project director Richard Noble (pictured) admitted that would not be possible. “Building the car is a mammoth task with more than 3,000 specially designed and about–to-be-made components,” he said. “There is a huge volume of activity all over the country, and the Bloodhound engineering team is absolutely determined to have the car on its wheels with the EJ200 engine running by this October, and we believe this is achievable.
“However, by the end of the year, crucial components like the tail-fin will still be in manufacture, and it is quite clear that we won’t be in South Africa for December, as we had hoped. So, it will be around April-June 2014, with the return to the desert to try to break the historic 1,000mph barrier in 2015.”
For more information about the Bloodhound SSC project, visit the Web site
(www.bloodhoundssc.com).