MOTORING NEWS - The project to drive a car at over 1 600km has run into a financial roadblock, with the company behind the venture going into business administration. The Bloodhound supersonic vehicle is all but built, but needs a R5-billion investment if it is to break records on Hakskeenpan near Upington in South Africa next year.

The administrators, FRP Advisory LLP, have begun talks to rescue the project, but it faces being wound up in the near future. Using the same jet technology as the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, Bloodhound is the most sophisticated land speed record car ever conceived.

Powered by a Rolls-Royce jet engine bolted to a rocket, it should easily smash the existing world mark of 1 228km.

But though all the research and development is done, with the car having conducted some low-speed trials, the project can not move forward without the necessary funding. "We have a project that is very much alive and on the cusp of delivering its goal, which is ground-breaking with leading technology," said Andrew Sheridan of FRP Advisory LLP.

"However, it needs around R5-billion to get it over the line. That now requires an investor, be that a wealthy individual or a corporate body. Bloodhound is a private undertaking, funded through donations, sponsorship and partnerships. The last three years have been an especially tough environment in which to raise financial support. The investment landscape is difficult, in part because of Brexit uncertainty, but principally because many large brands that might once have put their name on the side of a car to build awareness are now using other marketing tools, such as social media," said Sheridan.

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