Supersonic car driven by Hartlepool man set for key tests before 1000mph world record bid

The Bloodhound LSR, car driven by RAF pilot Andy Green, who grew up in Hartlepool, aims to set a new land speed world record of 1,000mph.

It is described as a combination of a fast jet, Formula 1 car and a spaceship.

Plans have been announced to put the vehicle through high speed tests on a dry lake bed race track for the first time at Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, South Africa, in October 2019.

It follows successful trials at Cornwall Airport Newquay in October 2017 when the car reached 200mph in eight seconds.

In South Africa, the team is targeting the key milestone of 500mph (800km/h).

Andy, who attended High Tunstall school, and holds the current land speed record of 763mph, said: “High speed testing is a key part of setting a new world land speed record.

“Building on everything we achieved in Newquay in 2017, we’ll learn a tremendous amount by going fast on the desert the car was designed to run on.

“This is where science meets reality and it all starts to get really exciting!”

The project is back on track after being rescued from administration in March by British entrepreneur Ian Warhurst CEO of Grafton LSR Ltd.

Over the last four months, the freshly assembled team have been busy preparing the car ready for the South African testing including adding a parachute braking system, uprating springs and dampers, adding more air pressure and load sensors, and a fire detection and suppression system.

Mr Walhurst said: “This world land speed record campaign is unlike any other, with the opportunities opened up by digital technology that enabled the team to test the car’s design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and that will allow us to gather and share data about the car’s performance in real time.”

Testing will take place on 12 ten mile long individual tracks that have been built side by side in the desert with each one only being able to be used for one run.

The bid to set a new land speed record is currently due to take place in late 2020.