1,000-mph Bloodhound SSC project runs out of gas
It turns out, not everybody is eager to spend $32 million to fund a supersonic record-chaser.
When we last heard from the Bloodhound SSC supersonic car project, it had reached out to investors to secure the £25 million (about $32 million) it needed to complete the project's development and testing. Now, it appears that money never came.
The Bloodhound SSC project has been put down, the BBC reports, following its inability to raise the required funds to move forward. The company wasn't quite ready to reach for the 1,000-mph mark it had hoped to hit -- further development was required, and it had yet to do a series of shakedown tests above 500 mph.
The current land speed world record is 763 mph (Mach 0.99), set in 1997 by ThrustSSC. Its driver, Andy Green, was also supposed to be the pilot responsible for carrying the Bloodhound SSC past the sound barrier.
"Despite overwhelming public support, and engagement with a wide range of potential and credible investors, it has not been possible to secure a purchaser for the business and assets," said Andrew Sheridan, joint administrator for the project, to the BBC.
The project operated entirely on sponsorships, partnerships and donations. Despite having big names like Rolls-Royce plc and Rolex on board, it still wasn't enough to see the project through to its conclusion. Bloodhound SSC's social media presence has already been taken offline.
The Bloodhound SSC was positively wild. A Eurojet EJ200 jet engine would have launched the car to 300 mph, at which point an actual freakin' rocket would carry the car to 1,000 mph. It required a Jaguar V8 solely for the purpose of driving the rocket's oxidizer pump. Hopefully some other company will pick up where Bloodhound SSC left off.
