The British company behind Project Bloodhound has entered into administration and now seeks new investors to help them attempt a new land speed record.
The company has already built the Bloodhound SSC, which has been tested to 200mph. The race car is powered by an EJ200 jet engine sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon, paired to a custom rocket system in a bid to exceed 1,000mph (1,609km/h).
“The team is now seeking around £25m ($33 million in current exchange rates) in investment to provide guaranteed funding and see the project to completion,” said Bloodhound Programme Ltd in a statement today.
The project was founded in 2007 and aims to break the 1,000mph barrier on a specially built 11-mile long (18km) race track in the deserts of Northern Cape in South Africa.
The company reckons that while £25 million is not an insignificant amount of money, it represents a fraction of the cost of participating in top-level motorsports like F1. A number of potential investors have already shown interest but the company encourages any other interested party to contact them.
“As we now move out of the R&D phase and into the operational phase of the project, we recognise that we need a different approach to funding,” said Mark Chapman, Chief Engineer, Project Bloodhound. “This project is built around the most successful team in the history of Land Speed Racing, and with the right support we have no doubt that the project will achieve its aims and could be racing for the record in as little as ten months.”
