Andy Green holds the Land speed record for cars
Bloodhound successfully completed its first high speed test in October
Andy Green is already the current holder of the world land speed record, as well as being the first person to break the sound barrier on land - so what is motivating him to jump back into a supersonic machine and attempt to set a new record?
We spoke to then man himself after his recent and successful first test in the Bloodhound SSC to find out.
Why are you doing this?
“Obviously to break the record, but there’s much more to it than that. We want to showcase British tech, and inspire schoolkids into science and technology. We’re doing some runs this week especially for 4000 Cornish schoolkids.”
If this car can do 1000mph, doing 200mph must be easy, right?
“It’s slower, for sure, but Bloodhound is made for 18sec runs at full power, not to be used as a drag racer on an airfield. With only 1.5 miles of runway to play with, we’re quite restricted.”
Does it feel fast off the line?
“It’ll do 0-60mph in about two seconds under full power, but there’s not much time to think about it because the engine takes time to shut down, so you’ve got to cut the power at 130mph so as to ‘only’ hit 200mph. The carbon brakes take a while to heat up, too, so you’ve got to plan carefully.”
How big is Bloodhound?
“About the same length and fin height as a Red Arrows Hawk, around 13 metres. When configured for 1000mph runs, it’ll weigh eight tonnes and be as powerful as all nine Red Arrows aircraft combined.”
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