Say you’re RAF Wing Commander Andy Green, preparing to become the world’s first human to drive a car faster than 1000 mph. You’re gonna want to know that your stopping mechanisms are in top working order. That means testing the various air brakes, wheel brakes, and parachutes that will eventually bring the Bloodhound SSC to a halt. We can’t blame Commander Green for wanting to do a few shakedown runs—but can a 180-mph Jaguar F-Type R Coupe really simulate the duty cycle of a rocket car’s chute?
-Commander Green seems to think so, though the Bloodhound team’s partnership with Jaguar may have something to do with this. You’ll recall that Jaguar first announced the addition of all-wheel-drive to the F-Type R by running it full-speed toward a jet fighter flying in the opposite direction, a demonstration designed to test the high-speed communications capabilities of the radios that will go into the jet-and-rocket-powered land-speed vehicle. More recently, Jaguar announced that the F-Type R would serve as the pit vehicle of choice for the Bloodhound team when it attempts the record at Hakskeen Pan in South Africa.
-This isn’t solely an advertising sponsorship on Jaguar’s part, though: deep beneath the Bloodhound SSC’s air-slicing bodywork, a supercharged 550-horse Jaguar 5.0-liter V-8 powers the oxidizer pump that feeds the vehicle’s rocket engine. The team originally planned to use a Cosworth-built F1 engine for the job, but that was apparently too badass to be feasible. The F-Type R’s engine does the job, while still providing that made-in-England flair.
-Okay, so the partnership is more than just a chance for Jaguar to plaster its name across the Bloodhound. Kudos. We’re still not 100-percent convinced by Green’s assurance in this video that “if it works at 180, it will definitely work at 1000 miles an hour.”
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- Behind the Scenes With Bloodhound SSC’s Team, Chasing 1000 MPH
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- Interview: Bloodhound SSC Driver and RAF Pilot Andy Green
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- Jaguar F-Type R News, Reviews, Features, Photos, and More
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Then again, Green has a bit more experience with this than we do: He’s the first person to drive faster than the speed of sound, and the current land speed world record holder at 763.035 mph. If a 180-mph parachute test is good enough for him, it’s good enough for us.
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from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1IA1qHc
via Agya
