Guest Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 Science & Environment Science & Environment Bloodhound: Land speed record car is relaunched By Jonathan Amos BBC Science Correspondent https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47650453 Media playback is unsupported on your device Ian Warhurst: "My kids kept saying I should buy a fast car, so I bought the fastest" Exit player Media captionIan Warhurst: "My kids kept saying I should buy a fast car, so I bought the fastest" The Bloodhound supersonic car is back, under new management and preparing to renew its pursuit of the land speed record. The project went into administration last year, unable to secure the financing needed to go racing - even though the vehicle was all but built. But with the purchase of the car by entrepreneur Ian Warhurst, Bloodhound has been put on a new footing. Engineers are looking to start high-speed trials "as soon as possible". These could take place in the South African desert later this year, although team-members are being cautious about giving hard timelines for the re-booted venture. Mr Warhurst is determined, however, that the new set-up should keep its promises and deliver on its objectives. "My kids kept saying I should buy a fast car, so I bought the fastest," he joked. "I knew that I could buy the car, save it and put it in a museum. But once I'd bought it we looked into whether we could run it, whether we could resurrect it as effectively a new project. "It is commercially viable. We believe the value of the sponsorship will easily pay for the project," he told BBC News. Bloodhound supersonic car project saved First public runs for 1,000mph car Image copyright BLOODHOUND LSR Image caption Bloodhound, in its new livery, arrives at the university technical college in Berkeley What remains the same? Casual observers may not notice much of a difference. Yes, the car has a new white and red livery but it's exactly the same vehicle that made its inaugural slow-speed (200mph/320km/h) runs at Newquay airport in October 2017. It will still be powered by a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine and a Nammo rocket, and RAF man Andy Green (the current land speed record holder - 763mph/1,228km/h) will do the driving. Mark Chapman, too, the engineering director, remains in charge of the technical side of the project. And Ron Ayers, the aerodynamicist and legend of land speed record design, is still involved. But there are some significant changes behind the scenes. Media playback is unsupported on your device The Bloodhound car got up to 200mph in about eight seconds Exit player Media captionThe Bloodhound car was tested in Newquay, Cornwall, in 2017 What has changed? People might notice that the patchwork of sponsors' logos has gone. Previous statements of support were all contracted through the old holding company, Bloodhound Programme Ltd, which no longer exists. The new legal entity is Grafton LSR Ltd, which has Mr Warhurst as its CEO. The HQ has moved. It's no longer in the Bristol suburb of Avonmouth and has shifted along the Severn Estuary to the university technical centre in the Gloucestershire town of Berkeley. What fans really want to hear, however, is that the financial underpinning of the project has changed. It's understood Bloodhound will still pursue a sponsorship and partnership model, but Mr Warhurst will act as a kind of guarantor, ready to step in if cashflow faces a bottleneck. Depending how successful the project is in raising funds, the Barnsley entrepreneur, who made his money in turbochargers, could be putting his hand deep into his pocket, or not much at all. But that "safety net" was never there in the past, which meant that when cash coming into the project slowed, it would often be forced into hibernation. Momentum was lost. There is another key departure from the past approach. Sponsorship opportunities now include the project title and the car's livery. Bloodhound may not stay white and red for long. Media playback is unsupported on your device Mark Chapman: "The ambition is to start running as soon as possible - but only when we're ready" Exit player Media captionMark Chapman: "The ambition is to start running as soon as possible - but only when we're ready" Technically, where is Bloodhound? As it was - very nearly complete, certainly in the guise required to begin high-speed trials, which would take the car into the 500-600mph region. That's the realm where airflows get interesting and the team can learn about the vehicle's handling and how to operate it when an attempt is made to go through the sound barrier and on to 800mph+. There are currently some body panels missing, which anyone who saw the car run in Newquay will recognise. The most obvious are the wheel fairings. There's some electronics work to do, the brakes need to be switched from carbon to steel, the parachutes to slow the car have to be installed, and the near-200 sensors across Bloodhound must be hooked up. "It sounds daft but the longest items are going to be the paperwork," said Mr Chapman. "All our assets are now owned by Grafton and the switch comes with a lot of bureaucracy that needs to be gone through if we're to take things like an EJ200 to South Africa. We'd like to get there before this year's weather window closes, but if we can't - so be it. We'll only announce a date when we know we can hit it." Image copyright BLOODHOUND LSR Image caption World's fastest car driver: Andy Green still aims to break his own record What happens now? The project will move forward in two phases. The first is simply to try to break the land speed record set by Andy Green in Thrust SSC way back in 1997 - the first and only time a car has been taken through the sound barrier. In the past, Bloodhound has always been spoken about as a 1,000mph vehicle - and its engineers firmly believe it can really go that fast. But to achieve this phase two goal, modifications would be required at the rear of the vehicle to improve the aerodynamics and to make room for the most powerful version of Nammo's rocket technology. So, for the time being the major focus is just on getting phase one done. Phase two is for a later conversation. "We are in a fantastic position with a mostly finished car which has already proved its basic performance with the runs it had at Newquay," Wing Commander Andy Green told BBC News. "We're still trying to achieve an astonishing global engineering adventure by getting the most advanced, straight-line racing car in history to a new land speed record. But Ian, sensibly, has said 'let's make this as manageable as possible by doing it in two bites'." Image Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 I would have but not now. Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford is bringing back photo radar speed traps. So..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 This driver may be qualified....if he gets his license back. However, 254KPH (158MPH) would be considered a slow lap at Daytona. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/5083900/driver-speed-limit-mississauga/amp/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Then he should go to daytona. There is no need to go that fast on a public roadway. It truly is getting stupid here in Ontario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 On 3/22/2019 at 11:53 AM, boestar said: Then he should go to daytona. There is no need to go that fast on a public roadway. It truly is getting stupid here in Ontario. Had a Ford F-150 pull in front of me today whose tail lights disappeared momentarily (that is close) that I thought we were going to collide. Not sure if he even knew I was in the lane. It’s getting out of control with even the most of basic road curtesy being forgotten and I’m sure there’s more than one stupid 19 year old driving his Mom’s X5 above the speed limit. Excessive speeding, wreckless driving and DUI’s should be automatic licence suspension for extended periods or even a permanent loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 The other day in Richmond, a brand new Audi R8 slammed into the back of a luxury SUV. The Audi was being driven by a teenager whose parents had just taken him to pick up his “present” for getting his first stage licence. The luxury SUV was being driven by his mother. The “N” sticker was clearly displayed next to the rear plate on the Audi. Edited to add, bring on the photo radar and make it like the systems in the UK which look not only at trap speed but also at average speed. It’s about time we got serious about this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Many of the young kids who hear about the clown doing 254km/hr think it is a non issue, just having fun, no damage done. Personally I would like to see his licence suspended for a year, the car impounded for a year and a $10,000.00 fine.......... but that is me....who came upon a Mustang GT wrapped around a road sign with the young driver impaled by one of the uprights and his passenger flattened by the rolling car... After I threw up, I used my radio Shack , bolted in the car, (one of the first cell phones on the market key usually called "the brick").... to call the police and ambulance. The RCMP officer said the speedometer was stuck at 135 MPH... Kids should be forced to look at ":stupid driver accident photos" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 I think the $10,000 fine is in effect in Ontario but it’s not working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeman Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 So...how about the Bloodhound SSC...or, LSR?http://www.bloodhoundlsr.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 12 hours ago, blues deville said: I think the $10,000 fine is in effect in Ontario but it’s not working. THere are several charges that are laid in Ontario in incidents like this. Stunting = 50Km/h over the limit. Up to $10,000 fine, immediate 7 day suspension and 7 day impound. Careless Driving Speeding All charges are laid against the driver (stunting is the one that get the press). Because the police know that the charge will be challenged in court they lay all 3 charges which allows the driver to plea to one of the lesser charges. Generally the careless will stick and if not the speeding will stick. Either way they lose all the points and still suffer the suspension and impound. Insurance will then jump to over $5000 a year easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeman Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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