I think I was passed by one of these on the Kennedy the other day:
A new paper from the Swansea University, College of Engineering team working on the BLOODHOUND SSC (Supersonic car) project has been published on the aerodynamic characteristics of travelling at 1,000mph. Simulations have looked at how the car will cope with the supersonic rolling ground, rotating wheels and resulting shock waves in close proximity to the test surface at the record attempt site in Hakskeen Pan, South Africa. Where, in 2015, it will make high speed test runs of up to 800mph, with the full 1,000mph attempt scheduled for 2016.
In order for a ground vehicle to travel at over 1,000mph (approximately Mach 1.3), the designers have created the most advanced fusion of space, aeronautical and Formula 1 engineering ever attempted. In the words of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, ‘the BLOODHOUND supersonic car (SSC) is the most exciting and dynamic engineering challenge going on today.’
I found that the title of the article was an interesting choice of words: “BLOODHOUND team predict the impact of the 1,000 mph supersonic car”. I imagine it would make quite an impact. I wouldn’t want to be hit by one while crossing the street, anyway.
My car will go 140 mph. But I have an onboard app that tells me my average speed since purchase is 21 mph. You can build a 1000 mph car, but it’ll still go 21 mph.
@michael reynolds
Does the speedometer max at 140, or do you know it will go 140?
Unless you have a German or premium Italian car, I seriously doubt it will actually go 140 mph. U. S. and Japanese cars start to self-destruct at high speeds.
There was a big difference between driving a 1965 Ford Mustang 120 mph and driving a 1965 BMW 120 mph. You’ll have to trust me on this.
I can’t wait until the test that thing on Top Gear.
Tasty:
The speedometer maxes at 160. I don’t actually know the top speed, though I just found a YouTube of a guy claiming to have hit 130. I’ve only broken 100 once – when my daughter’s school called to say she’d had a seizure. But that was in my old S-Class.
Something few people consider is the speed rating of their tires.
Dave
I don’t know what Michael is driving right now, but my toy car right now is the 2013 Boxster S; racing suspension, low profile tires etc. I signed up for the Porsche driving school and yes, it will do 160. Scarier is what it will do in the corners.
Now it wasn’t me, mind you, doing the driving. I was in the right hand seat and a pro driver in the left. I only look stupid. Now I know why they make Depends.
An aquaintance is an internationally ranked driver who races Boxster S’s in that class. There is a YouTube video of him crashing – very scary. His partners, uh, requested that he cease the hobby after that. I will try to find the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azbeo0M7i8w
Driving the fast car.
Drew,
That tire rolling out onto the track, after the car crash, reminded me of a similar incident happening to me several years back. My husband and I were caravanning from S. CA to N. CA. I was out in front in a mini-cooper (John Cooperworks version), when a large tire hopped the center divider, rolling out in the fast lane right in front of me. I swerved, barely missing it, and then eyed the rear view mirror praying my husband would do the same. He did. Thankfully, for both of us, traffic was light in the adjacent lane allowing us abrupt moving room. We finally stopped at a Hwy 5 rest stop, miles down the hwy, and just somberly looked at each other, realizing how close we had been to escaping what could have been a horrific accident.