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Bloodhound prepares for high-speed testing in South Africa

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The team behind the Bloodhound Land Speed Record (LSR) car has announced that the vehicle will shortly be heading to South Africa for a series of high-speed shakedowns on the Hakskeenpan desert, Northern Cape.

Expected to take place throughout October and November, the tests will see the vehicle carry out 13 progressively faster runs, eventually reaching speeds of 500+mph (800+km/h).

Commenting on the forthcoming trials Bloodhound CEO Ian Warhurst, who rescued the project from the administrators in 2018, said: “Something which has been talked about and planned for so long is now really happening…the project is now in new territory.”

The car has been undergoing a number of checks prior to departure, including a “dry crank” test of its EJ200 jet engine. This involves running through the start-up sequence and turning it over with no fuel or ignition.

Q&A: Ian Warhurst on rescuing Bloodhound

Bloodhound LSR set for high-speed trials in October

To perform this test the team is using a small jet engine known as an Air Start Cart to blow high pressure air into the onboard Aircraft Mounted Accessories Drive (AMAD) gearbox, which will spin the jet’s turbine up to required speed and, once spinning, generate 3-phase AC power for the car, which then sends power to the jet engine’s fuel pumps.

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