South Africa gears for land speed record attempt
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – A team of leading engineers, mechanics and support staff has arrived at the desolate Hakskeenpan desert in the Northern Cape where they will spend the next few weeks preparing to set the world land speed record.
Their multi-million dollar Bloodhound car which resembles a rocket has been flown from Luxembourg to South Africa and re-assembled.
The high-speed tests will see the vehicle racing along a specially prepared track for the first time. The vehicle is powered by a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, usually found in a Eurofighter jet. Its thrust will be equivalent to the power produced by 360 standard-sized cars.
During the testing phase, the Bloodhound will build speed gradually in 80km/h increments over a month. The culmination of the tests over four to five weeks will see the car reaching speeds of in excess of 800km/h.
Bloodhound driver and current World Land Speed Record holder Andy Green said he hopes to reach speeds in excess of 1,690km/h during the official time trials next year.
The current World Land Speed Record is 1,227km/h and is 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.
–0– PANA CU/AR 21Oct2019
