A supersonic car combining the technology of a fighter jet, F1 car and spacecraft has been tested in public ahead of a land speed world record attempt.

Bloodhound SSC has been built over nine years by a team of Bristol-based engineers from aeronautical and automotive backgrounds.

After weeks of trials, the car was put through its paces at Newquay Airport in Cornwall.

Jet-propelled car in test run

The two runway trials came after a series of tests to check the car's steering, brakes, suspension and data systems, as well as the efficiency of the intake feeding air to the EJ200 jet engine, sourced from a Eurofighter Typhoon.

The landmark moment in the high-profile project came 20 years after the current land speed world record was set on 15 October, 1997.


Many of those who set that record are back to break it, including Wing Commander Andy Green who drove Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) in the Nevada desert, making history as the first person to breach the sound barrier at 763.035 mph.

Image: The car has eight times the power of all the cars on an F1 grid. Pic: Bloodhound SSC

The ultimate aim of Bloodhound SSC is to not only break that record but reach a knuckle-whitening 1000mph in the South Africa desert.

During the trials in Cornwall, Mr Green and his team pushed the car up to around 200mph to check its progress.

The tests also gave the team an idea of how their engine systems work.

Image: Bloodhound SSC has been built over nine years by Bristol-based engineers

Bloodhound uses a Typhoon fighter jet engine to get up to around 350mph before a Jaguar V8 muscle car engine kicks in to supply fuel to a rocket which propels the car to over 1000mph.

In total, Bloodhound SSC has eight times the power of all the cars on an F1 grid.