Motoring
Everything you wanted to know about the 135,000bhp LSR car that’ll do a mile in 3.6 seconds.
Since the invention of the automobile a frantic race has been on to build the fastest car on the planet. Two people who know more than most about the coveted land speed record are the driving forces behind the Bloodhound SSC project. Current LSR holder Andy Green and the man whose record he broke, Richard Noble, believe they have the keys to the first car to smash through the 1,000mph (1,600kph) barrier.
Bloodhound SSC
Project manager Richard Noble and driver Andy Green are aiming for the biggest increase ever in the history of the land speed record. The current record stands at 763mph (set by Green in 1997 in Thrust SSC) and the Bloodhound SSC team are confident they can go 33 percent faster, or to put it another way: over 1,000mph.
In order to achieve this they have fitted their Bloodhound SSC with the engine from a Typhoon jet fighter, made allowances for volcanic temperatures within the car, engineered thrust of 135,000bhp and designed a car capable of covering a mile in 3.6 seconds. Even before claiming the land speed record this project has already scored plenty of points for building the most technologically advanced sports car ever created.
Start your engines
There are a total of three different types of engine embedded within Bloodhound. An EJ200 jet engine taken from a Typhoon fighter plane will propel the car to a steady 200mph (320kph), at which point three Nammo rockets will be engaged, producing 135,000bhp of thrust. This is the burst of power that will take Bloodhound to the sound barrier and beyond. The third type of engine present in the car is a 5.0-litre V8 taken from Jaguar’s F-type R which serves to pump fuel to the rockets.
A trip to the cockpit
Andy Green’s seat is moulded in such a way to fit his body perfectly and the steering wheel he grips is 3D-printed from powdered titanium to allow a snug grip. All dashboard systems are electronically powered, but Andy has three mechanical levers that shut off the fuel supply and deploy parachutes as a failsafe. The exterior of the cockpit is a carbon-fibre monocoque construction.
The wheel deal
To reach 1,000mph, Bloodhound’s wheels have to move at 10,200rpm, that’s beyond the limit of regular tyres so the team have opted for wheels of forged aluminium. Another benefit of aluminium is that it will have a much better chance of withstanding the pressure of 50,000g that comes with breaking the sound barrier. Also, it's very hard to get a puncture in an aluminium wheel.
Draw your brakes
In addition to the traditional wheel brakes, Bloodhound SSC will use two other types of brakes: parachute and airbrake. To take Bloodhound from 1,000mph to a standstill, the first thing to do is turn off the rockets. Then the airbrake is deployed before one parachute is opened, and then another parachute if required. When the car is down to 250mph (400kph) the wheel brakes can finish off the job of bringing Bloodhound to rest.
Keeping safety in mind
Driving at 1,000mph will never be without its risks, but Bloodhound is certainly safer than any previous land speed record attempt. With the advancement in technology, the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and other simulation techniques, the team is able to test the effect of laws of physics and simulate various scenarios to a much greater detail and derive a lot more precision in their results. In fact, the Bloodhound team even ran computer simulation tests on Thrust SSC’s model and learned how to overcome the challenges that the previous team faced during their world record attempt in 1997.
Playing by the rules
The Guinness World Land Speed Record is not guarded by too many rules and regulations; there are just two main things to keep in mind. Firstly, it’s essential to have four wheels in contact with the ground at all times, and secondly the final result must be the average time of two runs done in opposite directions. The two-runs rule avoids any undue advantage of slopes or wind conditions.
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