The Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC) has set its sights on a dry lake bed race track in Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, South Africa, to set a new world land speed record.
This news comes off the success of its first public run in October, reaching 200 mph at the Cornwall Airport Newquay, UK. Now, the team plans to reach its next milestone, hitting 500 mph. During its run, the car will sport solid aluminum wheels for the first time, designed to spin up to 10,200 revolutions per minute (rpm).
Dubbed the Bloodhound 500 trials, the South African test run will challenge performance metrics during its weakest phases. When a car reaches between 400 and 500 mph, its stability switches hands from wheel-ground interactions to the vehicle’s aerodynamics. Stability, control, and handling are most vulnerable during this transition.
“Data on the interaction between the solid aluminum wheels, which will be used for the first time, coupled with ‘base drag’ measurements, will provide ‘real-world’ insight into the power required to set records,” according to the Bloodhound Project. “Base drag relates to the aerodynamic force produced by low pressure at the rear of the car, sucking it back. As the car approaches transonic speeds, this force far exceeds the friction of the air passing over Bloodhound bodywork.”
An army of 500 built-in sensors will collect hundreds of gigabits of data. As part of a massive STEM education effort and a partnership with Oracle, the information will be shared with the Bloodhound team and schools from around the world. Students are encouraged to analyze the results and view the engineers’ work in real time.
The test runs will use a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine. According to the Bloodhound Project, the engine has a peak thrust of 20,000 pounds (90 kilonewtons), which equals the combined output of 360 family cars.
“Bloodhound 500 is a key milestone on the route to setting a 1,000 mph record. Building on everything we learned in Newquay this October, we’ll learn a tremendous amount by going fast on the desert the car was designed to run on. We hope you can join us in the Kalahari desert to share this experience first-hand,” says Wing Commander Andy Green, who drove the Bloodhound SSC during the October trials.
In the quest for transonic speeds, the team is offering a limited number of All Access tickets to see the Bloodhound 500 event in person.
