The Bloodhound Project, an attempt to promote STEM education by developing a supersonic car that can travel 1,000 MPH, died earlier this month when the British team ran out of money. But now an entrepreneur has bought the project, and the pursuit of quadruple-digit speed continues.
Bloodhound SSC has been working on its rocket car for over nine years, aiming to eclipse 1,000 MPH with RAF fighter pilot and holder of the current 763 MPH land speed record, Andy Green, at the helm of a Rolls-Royce Eurofighter jet engine-equipped rocket-car (yes, it’s got a jet engine, but it’s ALSO got a rocket. Hitting 1,000 MPH on land ain’t easy). But financial difficulties have struck hard.
“The Bloodhound SSC Gunning for 1,000 MPH Is in Deep Trouble” we wrote in October. “Dead: The 1000 MPH SSC Bloodhound Project,” was our headline earlier this month, followed by “The 1,000-MPH (?) Bloodhound Supersonic Car Can Be Yours for the Price of a New McLaren.”
But now there’s some good news, with The Bloodhound Project writing its own headline in its press release: “BLOODHOUND PROJECT SAVED.” In that statement, the organization says Yorkshire-based businessman Ian Warhurst has purchased the team and its assets (it does not mention how much he paid), and that this transaction means Bloodhound can continue its quest for high-speed dominance.
Warhurst is apparently a mechanical engineer who’s been a big fan of the British high-speed project, with the press release quoting him as saying:
“My family and I have been supporters too for many years and I am delighted to have been able to safeguard the business and assets.
Having built a successful engineering business I also know how hard it can be recruiting people with the right skills, and how important it is to inspire young people about science, technology, engineering and maths. Bloodhound brings these subjects to life in the most exciting way possible and I want to ensure it can continue doing that into the future. To that end I will be meeting with the team to draw up a plan, which we look forward to sharing in the New Year.”
The BBC mentions that Bloodhound has already tested its car up to 200 MPH at an England airport, and that the team had previously planned to head to South Africa near the end of next year to try to crank the dial up to about 600 MPH, eventually going for the 1,000 MPH goal sometime around 2020 or 2021. We’ll see if that timeline changes under the new leadership.
Hopefully not too much, because I really can’t want to see a car blast along a salt flat at A Thousand Freaking Miles Per Hour.