Currently reading: Bloodhound SSC project leader still hopeful of new funding
Land speed record holder Andy Green tells Autocar that investors are still interested in troubled 1000mph project

Land speed record holder Andy Green believes that the 1000mph Bloodhound SSC project still has a chance of survival, despite administrators ending a search for funding last week.

The project, which was attempting to smash Green’s 1997 land speed record set, went into administration in October. Last week, administrator Andrew Sheridan ended a six-week search to find the £25 million investment needed.

But Green, one of the driving forces behind the project, has told Autocar that he believes there is still a potential buyer who could save Bloodhound.Green says that when project bosses voluntarily put their company into administration a couple of months ago, the team was contacted by around 200 interested parties, 20 of whom were serious enough to sign non-disclosure agreements and visit the project's Bristol HQ.

One potential buyer with a a firm foothold in technology, who could well afford the £25million-plus Bloodhound needs to get back on track, simply couldn’t raise the money before the beginning of the new year, to meet the administrators’ schedule.

“You can’t blame the administrators,” says Green. “They work according to a strict process. But their action means we’re in the last ditch. But it also means the world’s best and fastest straight-line racing car — and the system needed to run it — is now on sale at about the tenth the price you’d have paid for it last week. What a bargain! And all the people who need to know this have learned about it by now.”

Green admits hope is fading, but believes that even if Bloodhound never breaks his 763mph record, or achieves its planned 1000mph, its creators can still take pride in having “put UK engineering on a global stage” and “interested about two million kids in science and technology you need to build a car like Bloodhound.”

Read more

Bloodhound administrators end search for funding

The man trying to save Bloodhound (from October 2018)

Bloodhound SSC: inside the factory building a 1000mph car

Steve Cropley

Steve Cropley Autocar
Title: Editor-in-chief

Steve Cropley is the oldest of Autocar’s editorial team, or the most experienced if you want to be polite about it. He joined over 30 years ago, and has driven many cars and interviewed many people in half a century in the business. 

Cropley, who regards himself as the magazine’s “long stop”, has seen many changes since Autocar was a print-only affair, but claims that in such a fast moving environment he has little appetite for looking back. 

He has been surprised and delighted by the generous reception afforded the My Week In Cars podcast he makes with long suffering colleague Matt Prior, and calls it the most enjoyable part of his working week.

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LouSiThames 10 December 2018

Good luck

All the best in finally finding somebody at the 11:59th hour. Surely somebody is interested. Go go go Lt Green!
scotty5 10 December 2018

Something's missing in that story

20 prospective buyers?

Someone who could well afford £25m couldn't raise the money in time?

Price is now 10% of what it was during administration?

Hopes now fading of finding someone?

Nope, I can't follow that logic either however a story of no potential buyers apart from a tyre kicker might fit.

 

scrap 10 December 2018

Did Richard Noble retire from

Did Richard Noble retire from this project? And why did JLR roll back their involvement?

 

SvenT 10 December 2018

Exactly

Not a word from mr Noble since the administration.

Sick, retired or gagged by administrators?