Bloodhound 1,000 mph rocket car needs a cash injection -- fast
The company behind the supersonic vehicle seeking to break the land-speed record must either find new investors or shut down.
The Bloodhound supersonic car needs a cash injection.
The Bloodhound rocket car's hope to top 1,000 mph may grind to a halt as the company behind it faces insolvency.
The UK-based Bloodhound Programme's supersonic (SSC) vehicle is almost ready for its delayed attempt to break the land-speed record but needs a $33 million (£25 million) investment before it can move ahead with plans, the BBC reported Monday.
FRP Advisory, the firm overseeing efforts to help Bloodhound Programme repay debts and sidestep insolvency, is talking to potential investors. But the project may shut down within weeks if one isn't found, the BBC said.
The team behind Bloodhound is aiming to beat the 760 mph record set by the Thrust SSC in 1997 and to hit its own 200 mph target speed in 8 seconds, which it did in a test run in England in November 2017.
Andrew Sheridan, a joint administrator at FRP, said Monday in a statement that the new financial plan "provides some breathing space" to amass the necessary funding.
"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," Mark Chapman, the project's chief engineer, said in the same statement. "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 10 months."
Neither Bloodhound Programme nor FRP immediately responded to requests for further comment.
