The Bloodhound Land Speed Record (LSR) team on Monday made history as the car hit 334mph (537kmph) on the Hakskeenpan desert racetrack: the highest speed it has achieved.
The team says three “run profiles” have now been completed, starting at 100mph, building to 200mph – the previous top speed achieved at Newquay in 2017 – before hitting 334mph in run profile three.
The Bloodhound LSR programme is a UK-based global endeavour exploiting the cutting-edge of digital technologies to set a new world land speed record.
The Bloodhound team’s primary objective is to engage and inspire people of all ages through the most extreme application of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
One of the most cutting-edge pieces of technology employed by the Bloodhound team is the low-power wide area network Internet of things remote sensor array.
In a statement, the team says the car’s EJ200 jet engine ran with full reheat for 12 seconds, “demonstrating it is in full working order, plus providing impressive drama for those watching”.
Bloodhound driver and current world land speed record-holder, Andy Green, says: “We’ve had two very successful runs today, with the second run reaching a max speed of 334mph – going from 50mph to 300mph in 13 seconds.
“There was strong cross-wind gusting at over 15mph and we’ve established that this is pretty much the limit for running in the car. We’re happy because this was a successful test; now we’re ready to progress on to higher speeds.”
The team adds that run profile three marked “the true beginning of the high-speed test programme, as all systems necessary for running with reheat have now been tested and checked”.
The car’s speed will be built up in 50mph increments over subsequent run profiles, carried out over the next four weeks, with a target top speed above 500mph for this testing programme.
The Bloodhound team is cautious, saying despite Monday’s momentous achievement, the first week of high-speed testing has not been plain sailing.
“The Bloodhound team have faced a number of challenges since arriving with the car in the Northern Cape of South Africa on Monday, 21st October. The Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 jet engine powering the Bloodhound LSR car is the same one used during the low-speed tests at Cornwall Airport Newquay in October 2017,” it says.
Additionally, the team says since then it has been in storage “with Rolls-Royce, the engine’s manufacturer, where it was filled with a corrosion inhibitor fluid, used to keep the engine in perfect condition. This waxy fluid is blown into all the oilways to prevent degrading when not in use.”
Bloodhound LSR CEO Ian Warhurst says: “I’ve been impressed with the tenacity of the team to work through a challenging first week of testing in the Kalahari Desert. With all those issues resolved, it’s exciting to be moving into the high-speed phase of the testing and get a max reheat run under our belts.
“Witnessing Bloodhound blasting from 50mph to 300mph in 13 seconds and on to 334mph was jaw-dropping. British engineering at its finest.”
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