Bloodhound: Mach 1 on Land

Alpha Dog

Words by Tom McCarthy
Photos by Stefan Marjoram courtesy of Bloodhound SSC

The Alpha Dog of all race cars: Bloodhound SSC.

In racing it's not uncommon to come across the phrase "Don't come down off the porch unless you're ready to run with the big dogs." The meek may inherit the earth my friend, but they sure as hell better stay off the race course, especially the land speed record course. This is where the really big dogs roam.

There's a new Alpha dog in town and before him there shall be no others. Not now, not ever, not if all goes according to Richard Noble's grand plan to be the first to break the 1,000 MPH mark. In as much as Richard’s race team of Thrust SSC (Super Sonic Car) was the first to break the sound barrier 20 years ago with a similar endeavor, one has to believe this team can take it to the next level.

The new Alpha dog's name is Bloodhound and this big dog is going deep into uncharted territory: speeds in excess of Mach 1. Mach 1.4 to be precise, 1,000 MPH or 1426-fps for you 357 Magnum fans – yes, a race car faster than a speeding bullet. Superman, sit down, shut up, have a cookie.

For the record, without exaggerating, the average speed of a 357 Magnum 125-grn JHP round is indeed close to 1500-fps (Feet Per Second) and when Bloodhound reaches its design intended speed of 1,000 MPH, that's how fast the car will actually be traveling.

The loads on the car will be enormous, unlike anything ever encountered by automotive engineering before. The wheels are close to 35.8" in diameter and will be spinning at close to10,500 rpms at 1,000 mph. The projected radial G-forces will exceed 50 tons.

The engineering that's gone into the building of this car is as amazing as the car itself. This truly is rocket science. Two power sources are required to get the car up to 1,000 MPH in less than one minute.