CAPE TOWN, May 20 — The current land speed record is held by the Thrust SSC, which broke the sound barrier while travelling at 763 miles per hour in 1997. Now its developers have taken on the challenge to reach 1,000 miles per hour with a new car called the Bloodhound SSC.

The 1,000 mph car weighs 7.8 tons and measures 13.4 metres long and is designed to tackle the severe aerodynamic challenges: its carbon fibre and titanium-plated body work is built to withstand a tremendous amount of pressure. Two computer winglets at the head of the car will help keep the nose grounded.

To achieve its record-breaking speed, the Bloodhound is equipped with a V12 racing engine that powers an EJ200 jet engine and a hybrid rocket engine.

The supersonic car Thrust SSC broke the sound barrier while travelling at 763mph. — Reuters pic

The jet engine, typically found in the Eurofighter jet Typhoon, takes the car to 100mph in just five seconds. When the car reaches 350 miles per hour at around 15 seconds, the rocket is fired, accelerating the car to 1,050 miles per hour in another 25 seconds. At its peak speed, the Bloodhound would break the land speed record, covering one mile in just 3.5 seconds.

The rocket will then shut off before power brakes and parachutes will be deployed to bring the vehicle to a stop.

The Bloodhound’s test drive is set to take place in the Hakskeen Pan desert in South Africa in 2016. — Reuters