SGS Carbide Tool to support 1,000 mph land speed record attempt

Bloodhound is headed by former world land speed record holder Richard Noble OBE, and the car in which the bid will be made, Bloodhound SSC (supersonic car), will be driven by the current world land speed record holder, Andy Green OBE. An RAF fighter pilot, Mr Green became the first to break the sound barrier on land, in Thrust SSC, at 763.035 mph. A complex combination of jet, rocket and piston-engined power is employed in the 12.8 m, 6,400 kg Bloodhound SSC in the quest for the ultimate goal, which will unfold over three stages, starting with 800 mph and 900 mph bids in 2010, with the final 1,000 mph target being challenged in 2011. SGS Carbide Tool and its US-headquartered parent, SGS, will provide R&D and technical resource to the team, both from the USA head office and in the UK, and manufacture and supply both listed and bespoke solid carbide tooling for the production and finishing of assemblies and components - predominantly exotic metals and carbon composites - used in the Bloodhound Supersonic Car, which is under development in Bristol. The heart of the hybrid vehicle combines a composite monocoque driver cell mated to a rear space frame, into which is installed the petrol, jet and rocket motors. Fully-automated self-levelling suspension and solid, 900 mm diameter wheels, front and rear complete the package. “We are tremendously proud and pleased that SGS is involved as a technical partner and supplier of tooling to this fantastic project. It is awe-inspiringly complex and will genuinely stretch the boundaries of technical achievement,” said SGS Carbide Tool UK managing director Alan Pearce. "Our deep experience in tooling for aerospace and the motorsport industries - particularly in the processing of carbon composites and exotic metals - and our ability to rapidly research, develop and supply one-off tooling on demand, has tremendous resonance with the Bloodhound team's needs. "Bloodhound is the ultimate environment in which to share R&D and knowledge at the very pinnacle of technology. I have no doubt it will significantly benefit the future development of our products and, as a consequence, those of our existing and future customers and beyond," he concluded.