Earlier this month the world’s most advanced straight-line supersonic car, Bloodhound, was axed due to lack of funding. However today's announcement that a Yorkshire entrepreneur has purchased the project means its future is now secure.
Last week (7 Dec) Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the company behind the initiative to reach 1,000 miles per hour in a land vehicle, announced that efforts to secure an investor to take the project forward had failed.
Following this, Bloodhound was contacted by a number of other interested parties, and a purchaser for the business and assets has now been secured, saving the project.
The business and assets are being bought for an undisclosed amount by Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst.
The acquisition comes after Bloodhound SSC made its first public runs at Cornwall Airport Newquay last year, hitting a peak speed of 210mph. The Manufacturer previously interviewed project director, Richard Noble, prior to the runs.
The Bloodhound project has a number of objectives:
Bloodhound is a combination of fast jet, F1 car and spaceship. At full speed, it will cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds – that’s 4.5 football pitches laid end to end, per second, or 300m in the blink of an eye. Overall, the vehicle has bespoke parts from more than 340 companies.
The current world land speed record of 763 mph (1,228 km/h) is held by Thrust SSC, a UK team led by Noble and driven by Andy Green.
Founded in 2007, Bloodhound aims to hit speeds of 1,000 mph at a specially built, 18km long, 1,500m wide race track at Hakskeen Pan in the deserts of the Northern Cape of South Africa.
The Bloodhound Project planned to test at 500-600mph (800-965km/h) towards the end of 2019, before attempting to approach its top speed a few years later.
Administrator for the project, Andrew Sheridan said: “We have been overwhelmed by the passion that clearly exists for Bloodhound and are thrilled that we have been able to secure a buyer who is able to give this inspiring project a future.
“Ian has a strong background in managing highly successful businesses in the automotive engineering sector and he will bring considerable expertise to bear in taking the project forward. He will be outlining his plans for the project in detail early in the New Year.”
The Manufacturer has followed Bloodhound SSC’s journey:
- Up to speed: Bloodhound SSC shows its shape
- Bloodhound launches record-sized STEM competition
- Bloodhound SSC: one final push
- Bloodhound SSC to make first public run