Bloodhound SSC team takes delivery of vital lifting equipment

The team behind a British bid to smash the world land speed record has taken delivery of new equipment vital for testing its supersonic, jet powered car.

A set of four cable-free vehicle lifts from SOMERSTOTALKARE has been installed at the Bristol headquarters of the Bloodhound SSC as part of a sponsorship deal signed earlier this year.

The UK’s leading supplier for heavy duty vehicle lifting solutions has also been training Bloodhound engineers on how to use the equipment which will be flown out to South Africa ahead of the world record attempt in 2014.

Tristan Johnston, Marketing Executive at Halesowen-based SOMERSTOTALKARE, explained: "The engineers are currently in the early stages of putting the car together and as it takes shape the lifts will play an important role in giving them safe access to the underside of the vehicle.

"This is a really exciting engineering project at the very cutting edge of technology and we are delighted to be involved."

The car will be powered by a Cosworth engine that pumps fuel in to a hybrid rocket engine that’s only accessible from below, making the S6cf lifts essential for both the construction and testing phases of the project.

The lifts will also been fitted with special adaptors to accommodate the Bloodhound SSC’s solid aluminium wheels, which weigh 95kg each, and the flexibility and manoeuvrability of the cable-free equipment is also a major benefit for the project team.

Commented Chris Dee of the Bloodhound SSC team: "The lifts will really help us with the build and maintenance of the Bloodhound SSC car both during the assembly and testing process. They will also allow us to maintain and service our support vehicles such as the Supacat desert vehicles we have been supplied with."

When finished, the Bloodhound SSC is designed to break the sound barrier and reach a speed of around 1,000 miles an hour. At 13 metres long it weighs more than seven tonnes and the engines produce more than 135,000 horsepower – more than six times the power of all the cars on a Formula 1 starting grid.