Your questions answered: Bloodhound SSC

Engineering projects don’t come much more challenging than building a 1,000mph car. That’s the target set by the team at Bloodhound SSC, who hope to inspire a generation of engineers by setting a new land speed record.

With the manufacturing and assembly stage of the project reaching the halfway mark and just 12 months until the first record attempt, the Bloodhound team has taken time to answer your questions on the challenges of developing — and driving — the world’s fastest car.

What developments has the project produced that you think may have a practical use in other applications?

Ron Ayers, chief aerodynamicist: The primary benefit accruing from the Bloodhound project is the educational one and by now I believe there is plenty of evidence that this is bearing fruit, as many young people have already been enthused. The second benefit is the publicity given to the excellent (but frequently unsung) companies in our supply chain. They normally do not get much publicity as they are frequently Tier 4 or Tier 5 members of a supply chain and the commercial and security considerations of the prime contractor prevent them from receiving public acknowledgment. Working with Bloodhound enables them to proclaim to the world that they are at the top of their specialist field. We may also be pushing their technology beyond existing boundaries and this will make their products/services even more marketable. We are ourselves pushing CFD to beyond its normal limits and this technology could have benefits in other projects.