On 15th October 1997, Andy Green and the Thrust SSC team made automotive history by breaking the fastest land speed world record after driving the Thrust Supersonic Car beyond the speed of sound at a recorded 763.035 miles per hour (1,227.985km/h, Mach 1.02).
Andy and many of the Thrust team are now working on a new car, The Bloodhound Supersonic Car, with the aim of reaching an incredible 1609km/h (1,000mph) or Mach 1.3 when the vehicle blasts down a South African desert race track in 2016.
Bloodhound SSC will have three engines, a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet, a Nammo hybrid rocket and Jaguar V8 driving the rocket’s fuel pump. Together they generate 135,000 thrust horse power. That’s equal to an incredible 180 F1 cars!
To encourage and motivate the next generation of scientists and engineers, Guinness World Records and the Bloodhound Challenge is inviting teams from around the world to take part in an international record-breaking challenge with the aim of achieving a prestigious Guinness World Records title for the Fastest Rocket-Powered Model Car, inspired by the Bloodhound Project.
Entrants will need to design and build a self-powered model car or truck that must be propelled by a rocket engine and therefore cannot be controlled from a distance using a remote control.
The current record holder for fastest rocket-powered model car (unlimited) is 'Insanity' which was built by pupils from the Joseph Whitaker School Young Engineers in Nottinghamshire, UK, which reached a top speed of 857.94 km/h (533.10 mph) during an attempt at the Rolls Royce Runway in Hucknall, UK back in October last year.
For the Bloodhound Challenge, we’re opening up a further three new categories alongside the unlimited title.
These three new categories are classified by the size, or total ‘impulse’ of the rocket motor. This is a measure of how much thrust the rocket motor is able to provide whilst it’s burning. By limiting the size of the rocket motor, other factors in the car’s design, such as aerodynamics, balance and friction become crucial in making the car go as fast as possible.
In the video below, you can see the story behind former record holders the Joseph Leckie Community Technology College in Walsall's successful attempt at the title back in 2011.
