IN OCTOBER 1997 Andy Green went supersonic in Thrust SSC and set a new world land speed record of 763.035mph (1,277.98km/h). Twenty years on, that record remains unchallenged.In October 2017, the team behind the Bloodhound Supersonic Car aims to change that and this week formally announced the start of preparations for its first world land speed record campaign.The attempt has been plagued by delays over the past few years, which is perhaps not surprising given the magnitude of the behind-the-scenes work that needs to take place. The main delay has been finance, with more than R800m required to fund the project.The team behind the project say they have recently signed some major deals, which means they now have sufficient funding pledged to complete the car and start the countdown to high-speed testing at the Hakskeen Pan, Northern Cape, SA, next year, although the team will not currently reveal the names of those who have provided the additional funding. With engineers returning to...
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