HAKSKEEN PAN, NORTHERN CAPE - Following its 790km/h run on Tuesday, the Bloodhound Land Speed Record car surpassed its 500mph (804km/h) testing target speed on Wednesday, hitting a speed of 806km/h.
"On #ThisisEngineeringDay, the Bloodhound LSR went 501mph / 806kmh on the Hakskeenpan during our high speed testing programme with the aim of breaking the land speed record in 2020," the team said in an update on Twitter.
This follows repairs that were made to the bodywork of the car following Tuesday’s run, in which pieces of steel were literally folded by the airflow from the front wheel as the car neared the 800km/h mark.
Watch the 806km/h run in the video below:
This was the seventh salt pan run for the supersonic car, which is being pushed faster with each outing by current World Land Speed record holder Andy Green, who hit the 1228km/h mark in the Thrust SSC way back in 1997.
Although the Bloodhound LSR won't be going that fast in the current testing phase, the team is gathering vital data from each run with the aim of eventually toppling the current record towards the end of 2020, perhaps even breaking the 1600km/h barrier.
The team experienced a few teething troubles while trying to get the car fired up for its first desert outing in mid-October, but once that had all been resolved, the car made its maiden run, hitting 160km/h in an attempt to check if the steering and brakes were in working order. The second outing doubled that speed using max dry power (power without extra fuel for reheat), followed by a coast down to measure rolling resistance. The next run saw the team using full reheat to hit 537km/h, with stability tests conducted before and after the peak speed was reached.
If you missed Tuesday's 790km/h run, check it out below: