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Bloodhound SSC: 1600km/h record-bid car for SA

London - A team of British engineers has unveiled a Bloodhound supersonic car  designed to break the land speed record by travelling at more than 1280km/h at South Africa's Hakskeen Pan lake bed in 2016.

Built by Formula 1 and aerospace engineers using jet and rocket engines, the Bloodhound could be capable of reaching speeds of more than 1600km/h, the team said.

The 13.5m vehicle produces more than seven times the combined power of all the cars in a Formula 1 race, it said.

Supersonic car for SA

Project director Richard Noble said: "Public interest in the project is incredible and thanks to the generous support of our partners we are delighted to able to bring Bloodhound SSC (supersonic car) to London and put it on show.

"With the car now built and the track in South Africa prepared, our focus is on racing in 2016."

IMAGE GALLERY: 2015 Bloodhound SSC parachute test
VIDEO: 2015 Bloodhound SSC parachute test

British driver Andy Green, who is scheduled to pilot the Bloodhound, set the current land speed record of 1228km/h in the United States in 1997 with the Thrust SSC.

The bloodhound SSC

The rocket-powered car is targeting ‘1000 miles per hour’ (1610km/h). It has multiple braking systems including air-brakes (‘doors’ mounted on the side of the car which open to increase aerodynamic drag) and disc brakes (used when slowing down from 321km/h).

LAND SPEED RECORD-BID: Project director Richard Noble stand next to the Bloodhound SSC, designed to reach speeds of more than 1600km/h. Image: AP / Alastair Grant

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