It’s just missing one thing.
When it comes to outright speed, the Bugatti Chiron remains the car that comes to mind first and foremost. But as fantastic as that machine is, it is still somewhat compromised. After all, it has to be able to sit in traffic, carry two occupants in lavish comfort, and look good. If your only objective is outright speed, those factors don’t come into play. A good example of this is the Bloodhound LSR (short for Land Speed Record), and this jet-powered car makes a Chiron look like it’s standing still. The incredible machine has already managed to hit 628 mph, with its ultimate goal to break 1,000 mph. Sadly, financial problems have caused the attempt to stall on numerous occasions, but it seems that new life is about to be breathed into the ambitious project.
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
According to the car’s driver, Andy Green, the Bloodhound LSR project may soon be restarted after the effects of the global pandemic brought it to a halt: “We’re having conversations with potential commercial partners and following Bloodhound’s high-speed test in November 2019 when we reached 628 mph, we have a good story to tell them,” said the driver. That’s all good and well, but in an age where all the rage surrounds sustainable sources of fuel, is a jet-powered, single-purpose, multi-million dollar project really worth getting involved in?
Green says: “When we first told Lord Drayson, whose idea the project was, that we wanted to go for 1,000 mph, he said our real aim should be using the car to get youngsters to talk about following engineering as a career. Right then, Bloodhound became an engineering adventure and today we’re in a good place to continue it.”
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
Obviously, the potential sponsors that could make 1,000 mph possible will see value in achieving that huge headline number, but even Green admits that there is no engineering need for the technology behind the Bloodhound LSR project, although he does see “a need to excite and inspire the public about aspects of the endeavor.”
At an event celebrating the Sunbeam 350hp land speed record car from 1922, fellow record-breaker Don Wales debated with Green: “The land speed record will always make the headlines but is it relevant anymore? I don’t think so. Instead, other classes such as electric and zero-emission records have far greater relevance. The future of the LSR will be class records that recognize sustainability over harming the planet.”
It will be interesting to see if Bloodhound is able to attract committed sponsors considering that the world is so obsessed with EVs, but we hold out hope that a 1,000-mph run can still be achieved before environmentalism forces the world to set the bar lower.
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
Bloodhound LSR
