Harry's Garage - YouTube

[WPA]

thegreenhell said:

They're looking for a driver and £12m, not a driver with £12m. They need some like Jim Ratcliffe to take an interest. He could fund it with loose change from the back of his sofa.

Not what it says on the website: https://www.bloodhoundlsr.com/

[ChocolateFrog]

WPA said:

Not watched the latest video, Thrust SSC was peak LSR for me to see the sound barrier broken on land was incredible.

Just cannot see this project ever getting to point of trying for the record, looking for a driver with 12 million behind him suggests all is not well funding wise.

Also is anybody really interested in the LSR now, it was so long ago that it was set.

Yes. Jets, rockets and 1000mph still get me interested.

Whether it's got enough to be relevant to promoting STEM subjects to the next generation or some other hook to get the required funding is debatable.

We need a grey haired white bloke to want to do it just because he can and he's bored.

[thegreenhell]

Fine, if money is the only driving qualification required then if I win this I'll do it, with a big Pistonheads - Speed Matters sticker on the sides of the car.

[tardelli]

thegreenhell said:

They're looking for a driver and £12m, not a driver with £12m. They need some like Jim Ratcliffe to take an interest. He could fund it with loose change from the back of his sofa.

He's busy for the foreseeable with his turd polishing kit.

[Caddyshack]

thegreenhell said:

Fine, if money is the only driving qualification required then if I win this I'll do it, with a big Pistonheads - Speed Matters sticker on the sides of the car.

Reminds me of “isn’t it ironic “ by Alanis Morisette….”he won the lottery and died the next day”


£54m won’t last long if you splurge £12m on a lsr attempt, you don’t get to keep the car or the borrowed engine.

[WPA]

Caddyshack said:

Reminds me of “isn’t it ironic “ by Alanis Morisette….”he won the lottery and died the next day”


£54m won’t last long if you splurge £12m on a lsr attempt, you don’t get to keep the car or the borrowed engine.

I doubt £12m will be enough, just the start is my guess

[Cold]

Caddyshack said:

Reminds me of “isn’t it ironic “ by Alanis Morisette….”he won the lottery and died the next day”


£54m won’t last long if you splurge £12m on a lsr attempt, you don’t get to keep the car or the borrowed engine.

Yep, by the time you've plopped £12m on Bloodhound you'll only have £42m left. Barely enough to get you over the Universal Credit threshold.

[Jules Sunley]

Cold said:

Caddyshack said:

Reminds me of “isn’t it ironic “ by Alanis Morisette….”he won the lottery and died the next day”


£54m won’t last long if you splurge £12m on a lsr attempt, you don’t get to keep the car or the borrowed engine.

Yep, by the time you've plopped £12m on Bloodhound you'll only have £42m left. Barely enough to get you over the Universal Credit threshold.

Beat me to it.

[sisu]

I think the business idea is that this is an easy way to make a movie. You have a unique plot, someone has already done the testing and they are "looking for a character to play the lead" Given they took 7 years to film the Jessie Combs Movie and no one thought escalator brushes as aero on a plane with no wings was a shady idea, having a woman pilot it would seem the best sales point given they are looking for inspiration and a year or two to plot the journey.

[DonkeyApple]

sisu said:

I think the business idea is that this is an easy way to make a movie. You have a unique plot, someone has already done the testing and they are "looking for a character to play the lead" Given they took 7 years to film the Jessie Combs Movie and no one thought escalator brushes as aero on a plane with no wings was a shady idea, having a woman pilot it would seem the best sales point given they are looking for inspiration and a year or two to plot the journey.

Then just go to one of the countless companies that raise funds all day long for that. It's a big market from total spankers cold calling mug pensioners all the way to IFX who get permission.

They could just rent a Craig Fairbrass or Nick Moran and have the cash out of Southend by Thursday.

Tying two wholly separate needs into a search for a single unique human strikes me as so naive and silly that it inspires one to think something else is afoot.

The long term MO of Grafton LSR Ltd is to get cash from modest British firms and then spunk it up the wall not delivering. It's doesn't look like it's changed at all. Every other week they're trying to flog the remnants, Warhurst has bailed but still has a mortgage over the company. The most impressive achievement to date being the increase in net worth each year since 2019 when it was essentially mothballed. The focus and objective of the Ltd looks to be to sell the assets not to go for any record attempt.

It's a lovely idea and many of us will have great memories of the Thrust project and then SSC and seeing all the other vehicles at Beaulieu but to me this is a an old dog that needs putting down.

Edited by DonkeyApple on Tuesday 21st November 07:37

[Venisonpie]

DonkeyApple said:

Tying two wholly separate needs into a search for a single unique human strikes me as so naive and silly that it inspires one to think something else is afoot.

Edited by DonkeyApple on Tuesday 21st November 07:37

This struck me as odd - the realistic likelihood of a rich jet pilot being interested means as the chap says in the vid - you end up with a bankrolled trainee a la F1. This doesn't ever seem to work well there and is unlikely to here regardless of whether it might make good tv as it either a) never turns a wheel or b)crashes spectacularly as it turns out the lack of significant required skill can't be taught (even by the impressive AG).

Or, the plan is extract cash up front, surprisingly discover driver not capable and in steps AG.

Edited by Venisonpie on Tuesday 21st November 09:36

[DonkeyApple]

To be fair, I think they're just looking for someone who'd pay some money from their corporate advertising budget and who happens to be willing and able to pilot it. The problem is that companies are defined by what they actually do, opposed to what they say they do and this really is a marketing company that collects advertising payments that then allows the payer to run a marketing campaign . I'm just not sure they'll ever suddenly raise enough funds to actually do the driving thing.

[generationx]

Joking aside there must be a huge number of caveats related to who will drive this, funding aside. The potential for a very catastrophic, very public, disaster is enormous.

[Caddyshack]

Jules Sunley said:

Cold said:

Caddyshack said:

Reminds me of “isn’t it ironic “ by Alanis Morisette….”he won the lottery and died the next day”


£54m won’t last long if you splurge £12m on a lsr attempt, you don’t get to keep the car or the borrowed engine.

Yep, by the time you've plopped £12m on Bloodhound you'll only have £42m left. Barely enough to get you over the Universal Credit threshold.

Beat me to it.

lol, I meant spending chunks of £12m at a time on an experience with no residual value. Do 4 of those events and it would nearly all be gone. If you pay £12m and miss the record by a small margin you could easily get sucked in for £12m for the next one….or a moon landing or a visit to the titanic etc…

[DonkeyApple]

They aren't looking for £12m from a driver though.

1) They are seeking £12m which they believe is enough money to go for the record.

2) They don't have a driver and have realised they can get more PR and more advertising revenue to keep paying the bills for longer if they say they want a driver who will pay some money in.

It's just an advertising offer where they hope to find a business owning adventurer with the skillset and desire to pilot the vehicle while his company pays to advertise and get all the promotional benefits.

The unfortunate core problem that the project has is that they are unable to raise revenue from advertising at a great enough rate above their ongoing costs and desperately need a big benefactor because all the business is otherwise is a vehicle to funnel corporate sponsorship income into salaries, which just makes them an advertising company, nothing more. And this week they're helping advertise the illusion of synthetic fuel to skint blokes so that affluent chaps can keep going round in circles at the weekend.

[h0b0]

DonkeyApple said:

They aren't looking for £12m from a driver though.

1) They are seeking £12m which they believe is enough money to go for the record.

2) They don't have a driver and have realised they can get more PR and more advertising revenue to keep paying the bills for longer if they say they want a driver who will pay some money in.

It's just an advertising offer where they hope to find a business owning adventurer with the skillset and desire to pilot the vehicle while his company pays to advertise and get all the promotional benefits.

The unfortunate core problem that the project has is that they are unable to raise revenue from advertising at a great enough rate above their ongoing costs and desperately need a big benefactor because all the business is otherwise is a vehicle to funnel corporate sponsorship income into salaries, which just makes them an advertising company, nothing more. And this week they're helping advertise the illusion of synthetic fuel to skint blokes so that affluent chaps can keep going round in circles at the weekend.

I expressed a similar view on here a couple of years ago. It didn’t land well. I respect the engineers and the work they are doing but it was clear their management were hiding behind “STEM”, “Think of the kids” when their real motive was their salary. I thought it very disingenuous and totally out of touch.

At least this time they are open with the message being “we need money”. I do wonder if Andy stepped away because they can’t afford to keep him employed full time.

[DonkeyApple]

DBX was interesting. Drove an early one and quite liked it but I do struggle with the interior, very fussy. But I've always thought it a much more credible product that one of VW's badges up Tuaregs that seem incredibly over priced for things based on a mass produced, relatively cheap family/shopping car. It does warrant sitting in a higher position alongside Range Rovers and the Purosangue which are their own product. Bespoke v tailored.

[NomduJour]

Definitely. Why only 2.7t towing, though?

[WY86]

DonkeyApple said:

DBX was interesting. Drove an early one and quite liked it but I do struggle with the interior, very fussy. But I've always thought it a much more credible product that one of VW's badges up Tuaregs that seem incredibly over priced for things based on a mass produced, relatively cheap family/shopping car. It does warrant sitting in a higher position alongside Range Rovers and the Purosangue which are their own product. Bespoke v tailored.

I think the Bentayga is pretty far removed from a Touareg to be fair and would choose one over a DBX. Only been a passenger in a DBX and felt a little out dated already. The awkward buttons for selecting park, drive, neutral and reverse would do my head in.

[NomduJour]

A Bentayga is a (much) uglier Q7 with the thinnest, most transparent veneer of “Bentley”.