The actual Bloodhound land speed record car is heading to London

We love Bloodhound SSC, Britain’s 1000mph land speed record project. Even the delays.

This year, the Norwegians decided to close the Nammo rocket testing venue – set to be used by the Bloodhound team for a few months – to, I don’t know, go and beat each other with birch twigs or something, which meant the rocket test had to be delayed.

Then Bloodhound’s rocket fuel impeller bearings were found to be not quite resilient enough to cope with the vast pressures. Such are the challenges of engineering a car to hit unprecedented speeds, and deal with unprecedented forces.

The long and the short of it is that Bloodhound didn’t run down a runway in Cornwall this summer, and isn’t now in South Aftrica about to send sonic booms across Hakskeen Pan.

No, better news: it’s in London. This week. Making its world debut.

Worried that Real Bloodhound will look just like the full-size model you’ve probably already seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed or elsewhere? Don’t be.

The engineering chaps have kindly left one side of the 135,000bhp jet/rocket car uncovered so you can see all the workings, including the carbon, steel and alloy chassis and the tail-fin’s skeleton. 98 per cent finished, the team reckons. 

The Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet, sourced from a Typhoon fighter, will be in situ, as well as the supercharged Jaguar 5.0-litre V8 that does no more than pump oxidizer into the hybrid rocket pack. You’ll be able to see the cockpit and views from the on-board cameras. Sounds good to us.  

It’s on display at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf this Friday and Saturday, from 9am to 5pm. It’s free, but you need a ticket. Go to www.bloodhoundssc.com/expoticket. And while you’re there, why not pay £15 to have your name put on the tail-fin? This is a project worth investing in…