NASA's Got Nothing on This

This is the Bloodhound (well a computer rendering of it anyway). The Bloodhound is the car that will take a shot at the undisputed land speed record. The current record stands at a staggering 763mph and is held by Wingcommander Andy Green in the Thrust SSC. The designers of that insanity on wheels are working on the Bloodhound. Only this time, they think they can achieve 1,000mph! That's like a cartoon. The specs are equally unreal. The car (can you really call it that?) will feature not one, not two, but three engines! One is a custom designed rocket that will produce 28,000lbs of thrust, one jet engine out of a Euro-fighter which produces 20,000lbs of thrust, and a Cosworth V8 Formula 1 engine. Now there is no direct thrust to horsepower formula, but from what I've read 22 pounds of thrust is roughly 1 horsepower. By that ratio, the two engines will have 2181.81bhp. Add to that the roughly 900bhp the Cosworth engine produces (it will not be limited to the 18,000rpm the FIA requires, but will flirt with 21,000rpm!) and the Bloodhound will have about 3100bhp.

Now I'm no engineer, but that seems low (if you can call 3100bhp low). A Top Fuel dragster produces roughly 8500bhp and it only goes 330mph. Yes, I know a TFD only goes a quarter-mile and the Bloodhound will be covering a distance over four times that, and yes I know the Bloodhound will have a supersleek aero-effecient body that a dragster doesn't, but that number still seems low. 5000-5200bhp would more realistic. But, the Bloodhound won't have any wheelspin, as its steel wheels (no tyres as they would detonate) aren't driven, just light fuse and get away! That might help a bit.

Also interesting is how they are going to use the Cosworth 2.4litre V8. The Bloodhound team plan on only using it to pump fuel into the two other engines. Yup, its only going to be a 900bhp, 21,000rpm fuel pump. Why? Because the insanely hign reving engine can fuel the motor quickly, and since it only produces about 265ft-lbs of torque, it won't hurt anything. All they have to do is keep that V8 fed with air at supersonic speeds........

Anyway, the test hack is supposed to be running by summer with a few months of testing before attacking the Salt Flats in 2012. Andy Green is getting old, I wonder if they need a driver pilot.....

Wallio out.