Institution brings 1,000 mph car to Welsh Parliament

The Bloodhound SuperSonic Car on display at Welsh Parliament, as Assembly Members return for Autumn term

On Tuesday 24 September the Institution of Mechanical Engineers took the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car on its first visit to the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff.

The full-scale model of the Bloodhound SSC car was on display to help raise awareness among schoolchildren, Welsh Assembly Members and the public about the Bloodhound SSC project and its aims to inspire a generation about science and engineering.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is one of the key sponsors of Bloodhound SSC, which aims to break the world land speed record by reaching over 1,000 miles per hour in the South African desert in 2015.

Over a hundred school children from local schools, including Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf, St Cuthburt’s Primary and Neath Port Talbot College joined Assembly Members seeing the car during the day. They also interacted with the iPad Bloodhound game and built Bloodhound model balloon cars. Welsh Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Ken Skates, was among the attendees.

Gareth Cemlyn Jones, Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Welsh regional spokesman, said:

“We need to encourage more young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), to ensure we have the right skills to keep the country’s economy growing and to tackle the big challenges facing humankind like rising population and climate change.

“Currently the number of people pursuing STEM careers is just not enough to meet future demands, which is why inspiring young people through the Bloodhound SSC project is so important.

“We hope that by showcasing the Bloodhound SSC car people realise the hugely exciting prospects there are in pursuing a career in engineering and STEM more generally”

Notes to Editors

The Bloodhound Project is first and foremost an education project designed to inspire future generations to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible. The goal of Bloodhound SSC is to attain a 1,000 mph world land speed record, using the pencil-shaped car, powered by a jet engine and a rocket designed to reach 1,000 miles per hour together with a Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 V8 petrol engine auxiliary power unit. It is being developed and built with the intention of breaking the land speed record by 33%, the largest ever margin. For more information on the project: