Spotlight shines on 1,000 mph supersonic car at its Scottish debut

Serco, one of the founder sponsors of The Bloodhound Project, has teamed up with Glasgow's Riverside Museum to provide local residents and visitors to the city with their first opportunity to see the Bloodhound supersonic car which will be attempting to set a new land speed record in excess of 1,000mph. A full size replica of this pioneering jet and rocket propelled car is visiting the museum from 26-28 April, with the first two days devoted to activities and workshops to inspire youngsters from visiting schools from all over Scotland. The vehicle will be on show to the general public on Thursday 26-28 April.

"ACCESS, our pioneering partnership with Glasgow City Council, presents a wonderful opportunity for us to provide Scottish youngsters with their first chance to see another pioneering initiative that is most definitely at the cutting edge of 21st Century engineering," says Serco's Duncan Mackison, Transition Director, Global Services Europe, Public Sector.

"It is particularly appropriate that this iconic car is making its first appearance north of the border here in the commercial capital of Scotland as the construction programme - involving more than 3,000 bespoke components - is using the spirit of partnership and innovation to rise to the huge technological challenges presented by such an ambitious goal. I am sure everyone will be enthralled and inspired by the technical prowess and supersonic aspiration of the Bloodhound project team. And, by hosting special activities and workshops for local schools to coincide with the car's visit, I am confident this initiative will prove to be inspirational for our next generation of engineers, scientists and technologists."

As well as getting up close to the replica, visitors to the museum will also be able to try the custom built simulator which gives the driver the thrill of driving at 14 times the motorway speed limit.

Bloodhound itself is currently in the build phase and a rolling chassis will be completed later this year ready for UK runway testing up to 200 mph which is scheduled for next year. 
However, building a car that's faster than a fighter jet is not the primary goal of the project. Its aim is to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by demonstrating how they can be harnessed to achieve the seemingly impossible. The Bloodhound Education Programme is now supporting over 5,000 primary and secondary schools from across the UK and nearly 4,000 schools from 62 other countries around the world are also getting involved with the project.

The Bloodhound Supersonic car is 13.5 metres long and the rear fin on the car stands to a height of 3 meters. The car will be powered by one of the world's most advanced jet engines which is used by the UK's fleet of Typhoon aircraft and weighs just over a tonne and a custom designed hybrid rocket. Between them they produce 135,000 hp, the equivalent to 180 F1 cars.

Serco is one of the five founder sponsors of Bloodhound supporting the project at its very inception. We will have a close association through build, test and the record attempt and finally the legacy of this iconic project including the Serco logo being on the side of the car. Serco recognises our own attributes in Bloodhound; a powerful vision inspiring people to strive for the extraordinary, to drive a car at over 1000mph, faster than the speed of a bullet.

Ends