Bloodhound SSC - £250k ONO
Want the car that may one day do 1,000mph? It's for sale at the price of a 720S
The recent demise of the Bloodhound SSC project has naturally been met with sadness across the industry. It looked like a triumph of British engineering nous, seemingly with all the investment it required in place and most of the legendary Thrust SSC team involved as well. But things have not worked out as planned, the programme now in administration as the money required to reach 800mph and eventually 1,000 has finally run out.
The latest twist in the tale sees the car itself up for sale. According to the BBC, the supersonic vehicle is priced at what looks like a fairly reasonable - given the potential of the car - £250,000. Of course the catch is an expectation to actually deliver on the 1,000mph target speed, Andy Green adding in an interview that a prospective buyer will need "to find a few million to get it running to full speed" - but that he knows a few engineers who could help. As has been intimated in the past few weeks, it's said that much of what's required for the attempt is ready and in place, although given where the project has ended up, you'd imagine there's some stiff upper lipping going on there.
Certainly the view of the administrator is slightly different, joint administrator Andrew Sheridan saying: "Despite overwhelming public support, and engagement with a wide range of potential and credible investors, it has not been possible to secure a purchaser for the business and assets." He also talks of selling the remaining assets "to maximise the return for creditors."
Which poses a problem: how desperate are the creditors for cash? Because while everyone is keen to see the project reach its end goal, if somebody who just wants a cool object and comes in offering £300k, then who are the administrators to turn that down? Let's hope it's the opposite; let's hope there's a benefactor with the wherewithal to see this grand project through, to get a car to 1,000mph and establish an incredible record in the process. As wealthy car buyers seem to strive ever harder for uniqueness in multi-million pound purchases, perhaps it's time to think a little more out of the box...
Honestly though I did wonder if in the current climate that this would ever see fruition. The costs involved are astronomical to say the least and I remember the massive number of stickers from sponsors on the previous cars to get them over the line and into the record books.
I once met Andy Green, Richard Noble and a few of the engineers that worked on the Thrust SSC project and it was a fascinating talk given by all and an amazing achievement to build a supersonic car. Crazy to think that said talk was 20 years or so ago and quite a random thing for the then teenage me to attend
Hopefully this isn't the end of the project and someone will invest but I can't see it happening any time soon, which is a real shame.
Unless someone can dig deep, this is going to end up as another dusty museum piece, a sign of our (current) disastrous times I fear.
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