Bloodhound 1000mph land speed record project to be liquidated
Will live on for a time as STEM education programme
THE BLOODHOUND SSC land speed record project has been shut down after attempts to find a financial backer failed.
In a statement, the joint administrator and FRP Advisory partner Andrew Sheridan said: “Since the company entered into administration we have worked tirelessly with the Directors to identify a suitable individual or organisation who could take the project forward.
“Despite overwhelming public support, and engagement with a wide range of potential and credible investors, it has not been possible to secure a purchaser for the business and assets.”
Launched in 2007 and funded through sponsorships and donations, the company that operated Bloodhound entered into administration in October 2018. To guarantee the future of the project and its aim of setting a new land speed record of 1,000mph, it was suggested that a “not insignificant” £25m would be needed.
The car’s chief engineer Mark Chapman was also confident that, if the “right support” was found in time, an attempt to surpass the current land speed record of 763mph could have taken place “in as little as 10 months”.
As part of the liquidation process, all of the third-party equipment that was used in the Bloodhound project will be returned. The remaining assets will then be sold to “maximise the return of creditors”.
Though the land speed record project is no more, the Bloodhound SSC Education charity will continue. The chief executive officer Kirsty Allpress confirmed to Driving.co.uk that their partners are committed to working with the charity “into 2019 and beyond”.
Set up as a separate entity to the land speed record venture, the charity aims to inspire the next generation of technicians and engineers with the supersonic car, and encourage young people to consider an education and a career in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field.
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Bloodhound 1,000mph land speed record project enters administration
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