The Bloodhound LSR car is set to undergo high-speed tests on a dry lake bed race track in South Africa in October 2019, in preparation for a land speed record attempt in late 2020.

Following the successful 200mph UK runway trials at Cornwall Airport Newquay in October 2017, the team, which is based at SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College on the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park, will be targeting 500mph.

Since the project’s relaunch in March 2019, the Bloodhound team has been focusing on preparing the car for high-speed testing.

This has included uprating the springs and dampers, and adding the parachute braking system, more air pressure and load sensors, and a fire detection and suppression system.

The team’s attempt on the world land speed record is the first in the digital era – data from hundreds of sensors on the car will be shared in real time to allow engineers to see exactly how the car is behaving. The trials in South Africa will enable the team to test this data distribution, as well as the live video stream, at high speeds in preparation for the land speed record runs.

“This land speed record campaign is unlike any other, with the opportunities opened up by digital technology, which enable the team to test the car’s design using computational fluid dynamics and will allow us to share data about the car’s performance in real time,” said Bloodhound LSR CEO Ian Warhurst.

“In addition, we’re running the car on a brand-new surface. The wheels have been designed specifically for the desert lake bed, but it will still be vital to test them at high speeds before making record speed runs.”