3M and the Bloodhound

3M and the Bloodhound: the fastest car on earth

The Bloodhound SSC will be attempting to break the world land speed record in 2017 by travelling at over 1,000 mph. The Bloodhound team enlisted the technical expertise of the 3M Atherstone Team to help the world's fastest car aesthetic and marketing appeal with a quality paint finish for its record breaking run.

Powered by a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and hybrid rockets , the Bloodhound will have 135,000 HP thrust , which is the equivalent of 180 Formula One cars. Machined aluminium alloy sections will house the jet engine and rockets at the rear of the car, with a carbon fibre monocoque. With the construction consisting of different materials, 3M adhesives have been used in bonding applications of carbon fibre and other composite materials. This also ensures the body will be durable and light weight to meet the exacting high speed challenge.

3M manufactures and supplies a wide range of adhesives and abrasives and these along with other products from the 3M Automotive Aftermarket range were used to perfect the distinctive paintwork on the Bloodhound. Ben Asirvatham, technical manager, explained: “The Bloodhound team is working on a unique, high technology engineering adventure and, as 3M is also at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of science and technology, we were very pleased to be involved.

“The project is also being used to spearhead a drive to make the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths dynamic and exciting for youngsters in schools. This matches well with 3M’s goal to work with schools to encourage students to study STEM subjects for their future careers.”

View 3M products used in the build

Simon Evans, of paintbysimon.com at the site’s Automotive Refinishing Centre, will be painting the car in sections over a number of weeks. Simon’s background includes working on many high profile projects such as the CNN Hummer “Warrior One” and other cars for films. Working with Akzo Nobel the paint supplier, Simon and Ben created the plan for adding colour to the Bloodhound’s exciting engineering design. “Preparing and painting the car at 3M is a perfect match of science and technology,” Simon added. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Low speed testing up to 200 mph will be conducted in Newquay following the completion of construction later this year. The Bloodhound will then travel to Northern Cape Province in South Africa for higher speed testing in the Hakskeenpan Dessert up to 800 mph and will make its first attempt at the 1,000 mph record attempt in South Africa next spring. The Bloodhound is in experienced hands with RAF fighter pilot Andy Green, who set the current record of 763.035 mph in the world’s first supersonic car in 1997.

We’ll keep you updated of any progress with the Bloodhound, but in the meantime, why not check out our Facebook or Twitter profiles?

Bloodhound facts and figures:

The Bloodhound SSC measures 13.470 metres in length and 3 metres high
It is designed to reach 1,050 mph
To put this into perspective, the Bloodhound will be faster than a bullet fired from a Magnum 357, reaches 150 metres in the blink of an eye and can cover four and a half football pitches in 1 second
The current World Land Speed Record is 763.035 mph
There are three types of brake: the friction brake will be deployed at 200mph, the parachutes will be deployed at 600mph and the air brake at 800mph
The EJ200 Jet engine delivers 90 kN (20,233 lbf) of power, the Hybrid Rocket engine 122 kN (27,427 lbf), and the Auxiliary Power Unit is a 5.0 L Supercharged V8 engine delivering fuel at 43 ltrs / sec to the Hybrid Rockets.

http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/project/facts-and-figures

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