Bad news for the Bloodhound project. The company behind the rocket-powered car, Bloodhound Programme Ltd, has gone into administration.
The car – designed to be propelled by a rocket attached to a Rolls-Royce Eurofighter jet engine – was all set to smash the existing world record 763mph later this year.
The company needs an additional £25m investment to get back on the track and continue with planned speed trials on Hakskeen Pan in the Kalahari Desert, in Southern Africa later this year.
FRP Advisory LLP has been appointed administrators and is now looking for sources of funding to rescue the company.
If the company is unable to secure additional investment it could close down completely within weeks. However, if this happens it isn’t all bad news. Bloodhound’s education programme is a separate charity with its own funds.
While it would be devasting if the main engineering project folds the educational Bloodhound charity, which has reached around 120,000 children in the UK and over two million children worldwide, would be able to continue its work.
If the company can secure rescue funding it would be able to restart development and begin testing the car at the end of 2019 in the Kalahari Desert with an aim of eventually beating the Land Speed Record of 763.035mph set by the Thrust SSC.
