'Rocket car' arrives in SA - and it plans to break land speed record at 1 600km/h

The world land speed record of 1 228km is under threat.

The Bloodhound LSR car has arrived at Hakskeenpan, a dry salt lake bed in SA's Northern Cape province, and over the next month a 25-strong crew will run tests that may see it exceeding 800 km/h.

 
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Within 12 to 18 months the team behind the project plans to beat the world record and then attempt to top 1,000 mph, said Jules Tipler, a spokesman for the UK-backed project.

“The high-speed testing will be conducted using the car’s Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet engine, usually found in a Eurofighter” plane, according to a statement. The thrust will be equivalent to the power produced by 360 standard-sized cars, it said.

The world record is currently held by Thrust SSC, a British-built jet-powered car that became the first land vehicle to break the sound barrier in 1997 at Black Rock Desert in Nevada.