Construction of the Bloodhound SSC Land Speed Record (LSR) car has begun and it has been confirmed that the British car will use the jet engine from a Eurofighter Typhoon. The 1,000kg jet engine will provide 20,000lb of thrust in addition to the Bloodhound's hybrid rocket's 27,500. This is the largest hybrid rocket ever designed in the UK.
Together, the two engines produce the equivalent of 135,000bhp, or the same as 180 Formula One cars. The power is needed to take the Bloodhound to 1,000mph as the car weights 6.5 tonnes. An initial trial of the hybrid engine has already taken place in the Mojave Desert in the USA using smaller prototypes.
The Bloodhound SSC (supersonic car) is being built in Bristol and will make its attempt on the LSR on South Africa's Hakskeen Pan in the Northern Cape Province in 2011. This site was chosen for its 12-mile long track that is free of debris on its dried up lake bed. Andy Green, the current LSR title holder and the man who will drive the Bloodhound, has been to check the site and given it his approval.
The speed that Green is aiming for is 1,050mph, with the car running on specially designed 90cm diameter wheels made from aerospace-grade aluminium. With a cockpit designed and styled much like a jet fighter's, RAF pilot Green should be right at home driving a car packing a Eurofighter's engine.
16 May: On 28 May over 100 classic cars of all eras will leave Peking on this year's Peking to Paris rally. The 7,500-mile route is expected to take 33 days to complete. A 1913 Ford Model T is the oldest car taking part while the newest is a 1982 Renault 4.
13 May: Citroen is celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Mehari with a special display at the company's C_42 showcase on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The Mehari was created by a French fighter ace, based on the Citroen 2CV and used bright-coloured plastic bodyw
