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Johannesburg - The Bloodhound Supersonic Car (Bloodhound SSC), which aims to break the current world land speed record and reach 1600km/h, reached a significant milestone yesterday as it successfully completed its first test runs at Cornwall Airport Newquay in the UK.
Bloodhound SSC, driven by current record holder Wing Commander Andy Green, reached speeds of up to 338km/h on the 2.7km long runway. Bloodhound SSC accelerated at rate of 1.5G, reaching 322km/h from a standing start in just 8 seconds.
Yesterday marked the culmination of a month of tests and was the first opportunity to prove the car’s steering, brakes, suspension, data systems and the EJ200 jet engine before the team head to the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa with the target of reaching 1287km/h. The team will then go back to the UK to review the data before returning to South Africa with the aim of reaching 1609km/h.
Castrol, the chosen oil of the Bloodhound project and a partner since 2014, has a notable heritage in Land Speed Racing, the original, purest and fastest form of automotive competition. The world land speed record has been broken 21 times with Castrol as a partner, from Kenelm Lee Guinness’s first record attempt in 1922 215km/h to the current record 1228km/h, set by Wing Commander Andy Green in Thrust SSC on 15th October 1997.
Bloodhound SSC is powered by an incredible 100 669kW, which is more than six times the total power output of the entire field of starters in Formula One! To achieve this immense power output and the target speed, the project team led by Richard Noble is placing its trust in a jet engine, rocket propulsion.
Richard Noble, Project Director, said, “It was great to finally see the car in action today. Bloodhound SSC is a unique, high-technology project and it is fantastic that we can rely on Castrol’s pioneering technology for all the car’s lubricants. When it comes to the record attempts, we’ve got to get the highest power to weight ratio as we possibly can. We’ve got to get the car as light as we can and yet maintain its strength and Castrol will certainly contribute with their terrific history of record-breaking.”
A.S. Ramchander, VP Marketing, Castrol said, “We are delighted to see Bloodhound SSC complete its first public runs. This partnership gives us the chance to showcase how our high-performance products such as Castrol Edge Supercar push the boundaries of performance and we have our sights firmly set on partnering on a 22nd World Land Speed Record.”
