Will somebody just sponsor Bloodhound already? Despite a resoundingly successful test programme last year, one which proved beyond all reasonable doubt both the viability of the car and the appeal of the project, the Bloodhound LSR attempt again seems to be on the brink.
Having reached a top speed of 628mph at the Hakskeen Pan, the car now needs to be fitted with a state-of-the-art monopropellant rocket in addition to its EJ200 jet engine. This will be provided by Norwegian rocket specialist Nammo, and should allow Bloodhound to reach speeds in excess of 800mph. In order to complete the development of the record-spec car, however, the team must not only be able to purchase and fit the rocket and its oxidiser pump, but also install the fuel system upgrades, braking mechanisms and tail fin winglets necessary for the increased speeds it will facilitate.
Funding to do so must be secured by the end of the month, in order to meet the financing requirements required to re-form the team of aerospace and motorsport experts and complete development of the car in time for its scheduled record attempt in 2021. And how much money is needed to see the project right the way through to completion? Just £8m.
That’s the same amount as it would cost to buy: two Koenigsegg Agera RSs, one-tenth of an RAF F-35 Lightning jet, a three-bedroom flat in Knightsbridge, a 60-second Superbowl ad, or eight sponsored Instagram posts from Kylie Jenner.
It even pales in comparison to the sums companies have spent on PR stunts in the past. It’s estimated that Red Bull spent £40m on sponsoring Felix Baumgartner’s skydive from the edge of space back in 2012, a stunt which earned them around £100m-worth of exposure. Independent analysis of the media coverage surrounding Bloodhound’s testing concluded that sponsors would have received a 14:1 return on their investment there, with a minimum ROI of 18:1 projected for the record attempt itself.
Moreover, in a world quarantined by coronavirus, a handful of blokes from Gloucestershire streaming their record attempt into millions of homes from the middle of nowhere may well be the only viable form of mass exposure for the foreseeable future...
Ian Warhurst, Bloodhound CEO - and the man who rescued and personally funded the project through to the completion of testing - said: “The clock is ticking to raise the necessary investment to re-group the team and crack on with the rocket program and other car upgrades in time to hit our 2021 deadlines. If we miss our cool weather window in July and August, temperatures in the Kalahari will make running a rocket untenable next year.
“The project remains dormant whilst we try to secure the funding but at a cost of tens of thousands per month of overheads, and the threat that we miss the weather window next year, we cannot remain dormant for long. After all that this project has achieved in the past year to prove its viability, it would be devastating to end here when we are so close. We remain optimistic but really are running out of time.”
Multiple sponsors remain interested in the project, each apparently ready to contribute a portion of the money required. But with no one seemingly willing to be the first to commit, the clock is ticking toward a time when it’ll be too late to do so. Having come this far, what a shame that would be.
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