Cancelled Bloodhound 'gave inspiration like Apollo missions to 2m children'

The Bloodhound project has more than achieved one of its key aims despite the cancellation of next year’s land speed record bid, an IMechE spokesman has said.

Education and STEM outreach was a key aim of the supersonic car project from the start, with important figures including driver Andy Green always stressing the importance of inspiring new engineers alongside the attempt to go faster than 1,000mph.

The project was ultimately called off last Friday after the company went into administration, despite last-ditch attempts to secure £25m extra investment to go ahead with the top speed run in South Africa.

While the land speed record may never be broken again – it is currently held by Green in the Thrust SSC, also with Bloodhound director Richard Noble – the team still achieved its aim of inspiring young people, said IMechE head of education policy Peter Finegold.

“Bloodhound has done a great deal to raise the profile of a particular aspect of engineering to young people around the UK and beyond,” said Finegold. “We know that at least 6,000 UK schools have used the technical content in lessons, and that an estimated 2m children have taken part in Bloodhound activities since the start of the project.”

The IMechE was a key supporter and previous sponsor of the project. In the last three years it provided 240 ambassadors with Bloodhound ‘toolkits’, giving hundreds of thousands of young people the chance to build their own Bloodhound ‘balloon cars’ and learn about the project’s underlying engineering principles. 

In the wake of a report from Barclays Corporate Banking, which showed low levels of interest in manufacturing among young people , it is clear that engineering firms need big projects like Bloodhound to boost visibility, Finegold said.

“I think that the challenge for engineering generally is visibility… it often struggles to raise its head above the parapet, and so these big national, symbolic initiatives are essential, because they turn people’s heads.

“I’m someone who grew up around the Apollo project, and so my interest in engineering can be traced back to the 1960s. I think Bloodhound offered something similar. It is a function of our times that we need these big national events to grab people’s attention.”

With successful tests already carried out in Newquay last year, the desert track in South Africa prepared and the car technology almost ready, Green left the tantalising possibility of a record attempt open in a BBC interview.

The driver and RAF wing commander said he would “love to see the car run”, and said it could still happen if someone bought it. "If somebody is out there with a quarter of a million, there is a car there,” he said. “There is still a chance that Bloodhound could run. As far as Christmas presents go, that's the one I'd like.”

After the “privilege” of being involved, the Institution is now waiting to hear if there is any future for the project, including the outreach programme. “The Institution has been a key supporter of Bloodhound from the very early stages. It is something that has a resonance with our members and our purpose,” said Finegold.

“One of the features of engineering is it is often an endeavour that has a risk associated with it, and I think the potential rewards made it a worthwhile investment for the Institution to support. It has been a great thing over the last few years.”