1,000m/h supersonic car model revealed

A MODEL of a supersonic car that aims to be the first ever to break the 1,000mph (1,600km/h) speed barrier on land was revealed yesterday.

After three years of painstaking aerodynamic work, the model of the SuperSonic Car went on display at the Farnborough Air Show.

The car uses a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine combined with a Falcon hybrid rocket to produce 133,000bhp.

The Bloodhound is 12.8 metres long and weighs six tonnes. But with all that power on board, the project team has calculated that the car will sprint from 0-1,000m/h in 42 seconds.

Providing that enough sponsorship can be found, the Bloodhound record attempt is due to happen in a dried up lakebed called Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape of South Africa in 2012.

The car will be driven by Wing Commander Andy Green, the same man who drove Thrust SSC to the current land speed record of 763m/h (1,227km/h) in 1997.

The Bloodhound SSC project is being masterminded by Richard Noble who drove Thrust2 to the land speed record in 1983, and oversaw the Thrust SSC record-breaking bid.

Meanwhile, rivals Boeing and Airbus shared the honours yesterday as they won orders worth some €18 billion from airlines and leasing companies seeking to meet soaring demand for air travel.

The Farnborough International Airshow took off with a rush of firm orders for 192 short and long-haul passenger jets.

The biggest single order came from Dubai airline Emirates for 30 Boeing long-range 777 aircraft worth a combined €7bn.

The Farnborough show near London is one of the aviation world’s biggest trade events and renowned for being an arena for major deal announcements.