1000-mph Car Planned

Smivs notes a BBC report on a British team planning a 1000-mph record-breaking car. The previous land-speed record broke the sound barrier. The proposed vehicle will get from 0 to 1,050 mph in 40 seconds. "RAF pilot Andy Green made history in 1997 when he drove the Thrust SSC jet-powered vehicle at 763 mph (1,228 km/h). Now he intends to get behind the wheel of a car that is capable of reaching 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h). Known as Bloodhound, the new car will be powered by a rocket bolted to a Typhoon-Eurofighter jet engine. The team-members have been working on the concept for the past 18 months and expect to be ready to make their new record attempt in 2011."

The real question...

[xcog]

How many MPG will it get? And where can I dock my iPod?

I wonder ...

[RAMMS+EIN]

I wonder how many stars it will score on the crash test ...

To the moon!

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how many stars it will score on the crash test ...

I wonder how many stars it will PASS on the crash test ;)

Splat

[FrostedWheat]

I'd hate to be a bug on that windscreen. Ooch.

Re:thats a big splat

[drerwk]

the last person i heard of strapping a rocket to a car to see how fast they could go ended up driving into a mountain because he couldnt stop

The intention was not to stop, but an actual test of the Overthruster.

and this was in the salt flats of utah (at least thats where he started, clearly it wasnt so flat where he ended up)

Certainly the 8th dimension would not be described as flat!

Sponsors?

[speroni]

Is this an ACME funded project?

ACME [wikipedia.org]

Re:The real question...

[innit]

Yeah, if Britain was 11 miles long.

The video...

[PearsSoap]

"Are you telling me I can dodge bullets?"
"When you're ready, you'll be able to outdrive them."

Jeremy Clarkson:

[Anonymous Coward]

Hamster! You want to try it out ?

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[spideysense]

Yeah, and I bet the Dodge Neon you strap those rockets to hold up real good at 1000mph. It takes some engineering to withstand those kind of forces without blowing the car and the driver into tiny pieces. But please give me a call when you try your little experiment - I'd love to watch.

We all know it was

[rmallico]

Buckaroo Bonzai... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gNJ1z-ulB4&feature=related [youtube.com]

Re:The real question...

[sqldr]

Having cycled from Lands End to John o' Groats twice, I can tell you that the shortest route from the two most distant points on great britain are 857 miles apart. The route we took was 1050. Based on this, by the time he hits 1050 mph, he would barely be out of cornwall. Then again, it's quite mountainous around there, so he would probably be quite high in the air by that point.

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[Sockatume]

To misremember the words of some journalist covering the Thrust SSC: while getting to the sound barrier in a vehicle with wheels is easy, doing so without inadvertently turning your car into a new kind of aircraft or tunneling machine is rather more difficult.

Re:Sponsors?

[ParanoiaBOTS]

Acme...we strap rockets to everything!

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[snspdaarf]

I makes no sense....

Your words, not mine, but I agree.

Re:1000 mph speed, 100 gallons per mile efficiency

[Drakkenmensch]

A land vehicule designed for the transportation of people, with a motor specced for activating the circular motion through a drive shaft of two (or more) wheels. Preferably with speed limitations that allow for surviving a turn higher than 10 degrees or hitting a pebble smaller than a cheerios.

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[2names]

Besides we might just learn something

Yes, we might just learn if Fruit of the Looms can withstand the force of a 1000 MPH "Oh SHIT!" moment.

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[Gilmoure]

Maybe someone could figure out how to use the force of the air rushing past the car to help support it or even totally suspend it so one wouldn't have to use wheels at all. That would be cool!

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe someone could figure out how to use the force of the air rushing past the car to help support it or even totally suspend it so one wouldn't have to use wheels at all

You mean the vehicle would kind of plane through the air? Awesome idea! But what would we call such a vehicle?

Re:Speedo?

[YrWrstNtmr]

Where do you get a speedo that goes up to 1000 mph?

Michael Phelps.

Re:MPG is an obsolete measurement

[rtfa-troll]

The whooosh you hear is the sound of the car going over your head.