ESSEX-based DC Electronics, a leading specialists in high quality electrical systems for the motorsport industry, has been named as an official product sponsor of the Bloodhound project which aims to create a land speed record car capable of 1,000mph.

ESSEX-based DC Electronics, a leading specialists in high quality electrical systems for the motorsport industry, has been named as an official product sponsor of the Bloodhound project which aims to create a land speed record car capable of 1,000mph.

Unlike all other forms of motorsport, there are virtually no restrictions imposed on the design of land speed vehicles - a brief which the Maldon-based company has taken on with huge enthusiasm.

David Cunliffe, director and co-founder of DC Electronics, said: “Being an ex-Royal Air Force apprentice, this is the perfect project for me. I know my way around the airframe and engine wiring systems that will be used to control the jet engine, and then we will wire the rest of the vehicle in the same way we would a Formula One car.

“The Bloodhound team already has some great technical partners on board that we will be working with, many of whom we already know from the motorsport industry.”

Mr Cunliffe added: “This project is a ground-breaking adventure that will push technology to the limits. The sheer expertise and knowledge that will arise is going to be truly inspiring.”

The Bloodhound project is being led by Richard Noble OBE, former holder of the land speed record, and the car is to be driven by Wing Commander Andy Green, holder of the current record of 763mph.

The 12.8metre-long, jet and rocket-powered vehicle, weighing 6,422kg when fuelled, will be more advanced than most spacecraft and faster than a bullet fired from a handgun. Its 900mm diameter wheels will spin at over 10,000rpm and the car will accelerate from 0-1,050mph in 40 seconds.

A maximum velocity, the pressure of air bearing down on its carbon fibre and titanium bodywork will exceed 12 tonnes per square metre, a which speed vehicle will be covering a distance equivalent to more than four football pitches every second.

Richard Noble said: “The Bloodhound project is not just about going very very fast. Our primary objective is to ignite young peoples' interest in maths, science and engineering in the most exciting way possible.

“There has never been anything like Bloodhound before so to create a car capable of travelling at 1,000mph, we'll be generating cutting edge research which will have far reaching benefits across the science and engineering industries.”