For the last 15 years, Bloodhound has held the dream of setting a new land speed record with a rocket-powered car. But the goal of reaching 800 mph (1,287 km/h) doesn’t come cheap, and the team’s latest attempt at raising necessary funds could involve you.
The “Race to Greatness: Bloodhound Land Speed Record Driver Search” campaign seeks to find someone daring enough to take the wheel of its jet car as it goes for a new record. If you are already thinking where’s the catch, well, the team openly states that it is “looking for a driver that must bring the remaining funding required for Bloodhound to set a new LSR [land speed record].”
Although Bloodhound states that it needs £12 million ($14.77 million USD at current exchange rates) to get the record-attempting ball rolling. However, the driver will not have to cut a check for the full amount.
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In addition to any funding the team already has, Bloodhound also hopes that the search for a new driver will generate some buzz, and encourage some sponsors to stick their names on the car. The company is currently doing a tour of the U.K. with a full-size replica of its rocket car to help drive further interest in the project.
However, the search for a new driver doesn’t mean that Andy Green, who has been with it since the beginning, is out. Instead, he will shift into a coaching position, helping to train and mentor the newcomer.
How much coaching could it take to drive in a straight line? Well quite a bit, actually. In a video posted to its YouTube channel, Bloodhound showed how much work Green was putting into the wheel when it tested the car a few years ago.
There is also a mental challenge in driving the car due to the natural peril of running at such high speeds – a danger proven all too tragically by the dearly departed Jessi Combs. Bloodhound’s new driver however will be offered the chance to break the current land speed record of 763.035 mph (1,227.986 km/h), which was set back in 1997.
The record attempt will be completed on a specially prepared track in South Africa. The vehicle itself is powered by a Nammo rocket motor working in concert with the same Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine that powers jet fighters around the world. Unlike those, the Bloodhound car will use synthetic jet fuel that is designed to be greener, and will hopefully revolutionize the aerospace industry, which cannot easily be electrified.