Bulletproof Bloodhound: The supersonic car with a top speed of 1000mph

A supersonic car which could set a new land speed record of up to 1,000mph has had to be given a bulletproof coating. Any flying debris from one of the wheels will be travelling so fast that extreme measures had to be taken to ensure the vehicle’s safety. Panels made of woven glass fibre have been fitted to both sides of the cockpit which can withstand the force of chunks of aluminium flying off at speeds of up to 2,200mph. The Bloodhound SSC vehicle is fitted with a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine from the Typhoon fighter plane, and a rocket engine usually used to lift satellites into space.

It is the same high-tech material from which we make jet fighters, F1 cars and in this particular case, the strongest safety cell in the history of motorsport.

Driver Andy Green

It was created by a team of engineers in the UK. The powerful engines could help it reach speeds of up to 1,000mph, beating the current land speed record of 763mph set in Nevada in 1997. At 1,000mph, the car’s four wheels will be spinning at 10,000RPM. The attempt is likely to take place next year in South Africa, with testing continuing throughout the rest of 2015. At the wheel of the record-breaking drive 1997 was Andy Green, who will also drive the Bloodhound.

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