Bloodhound SSC: behind the wheel inside 1000mph cockpit

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

13 June 2014 00:01

Want to know what it feels like to hit 1000mph? This is our first look inside the cockpit of the Bloodhound SSC, the new supersonic rocket challenger looking to set a new world land speed record.

The Bloodhound SSC's cabin is cramped and looks more like the cockpit of a Eurofighter jet than a car. Which means it's business as usual for Andy Green, the RAF pilot who will drive/fly Bloodhound for the 2015 and 2016 record attempts in South Africa.

If successful, the Bloodhound will become the world's fastest car.

The Bloodhound team unveiled the SSC's cabin at an event in Bristol on 13 June 2014. The team's technical base is in Avonmouth and CAR will be reporting live from the event later today.

Of special note is the bespoke carbonfibre safety cell (pictured), which took more than 10,000 hours to design and build. A pretty crucial piece of kit should things go pear-shaped during Andy Green's record attempt.

The monocoque safety cell is said to weigh 200kg. Many other parts of Bloodhound SSC have been 3D printed by specialist manufacturers in the UK; the whole Bloodhound event is a UK project, backed by the RAF, schools and universities and engineering resources.

Providing motive power for Bloodhound is a Rolls-Royce EJ200 Jet engine. The 135,000bhp motor drives the 7.5-tonne, four-wheeled missile for just long enough to hit the 1000mph barrier, in theory.

After which, powerful brakes and a parachute will deploy to slow down the Bloodhound SSC, dragging the SSC to a standstill on the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa. An air brake deploys at 800mph, the parachute at 600mph and conventional friction discs come into play at 'just' 200mph.

Pretty damn quick. Put it this way: the Bloodhound is capable of doing 0-1000mph in 55sec! At full thrust, it will emit 180 decibels, making it louder than a Boeing 747 at take-off.

The Bloodhound SSC project kicked off back in October 2008.

By Tim Pollard