Bloodhound world land speed record attempt slated for October 2017
The supersonic car could reach speeds of up to 1,000mph as it races along a dedicated track built in the South African desert.
The engineering team behind educational supersonic car project Bloodhound on Monday set the date for their world land speed record attempt.
In October 2017, the Bloodhound SSC will attempt to reach speeds of more than 763.035 miles per hour on a dedicated track built in the desert on South Africa's Northern Cape. During the intervening period the Bloodhound team, based in Bristol, England, will be working to get the car "race ready" before tests begin in the autumn next year.
The Bloodhound Supersonic Car will potentially be able to reach speeds of 1,000mph thanks to a jet engine and a cluster of rockets that power it. The mission behind the creation of the vehicle isn't just to beat the world land speed record, though. The aim of the project from the start has been to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers by running a parallel education program with resources that are freely available to all educational institutions.
The project has relied on funding from outside donors at every stage, and this week's announcement has only been possible thanks to the team signing deals with some as-yet unnamed new partners.
"This is probably the biggest moment in the project's history," said Project Director Richard Noble in a statement. "Before we could only see financially a few months ahead, but now we can put our foot down and really go for it."