1,000mph Bloodhound supersonic car project bought by British entrepreneur

A British entrepreneur has bought the nearly-scrapped Bloodhound supersonic car project which aims to hit speeds of 1,000mph.

Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the firm behind the initiative to break the land speed world record, went into administration in October.

But the company has now announced that it is being bought for an undisclosed amount by Yorkshire-based entrepreneur Ian Warhurst.

Joint administrator Andrew Sheridan said: "We have been overwhelmed by the passion that clearly exists for Bloodhound and are thrilled that we have been able to secure a buyer who is able to give this inspiring project a future.

"Ian has a strong background in managing highly successful businesses in the automotive engineering sector and he will bring considerable expertise to bear in taking the project forward.

"He will be outlining his plans for the project in detail early in the New Year.

"In the meantime, we would particularly like to thank the Ministry of Defence and Rolls-Royce for their support and collaboration throughout this process, without which it would not have been possible for the project to be in a position to continue."

The administrators said they were contacted by a number of interested parties following the announcement that the project would be scrapped.

Project Bloodhound was founded in 2007 with plans to race the car at a specially-built track in the deserts of South Africa.

The team had been seeking £25m in investment to provide guaranteed funding and see the project to completion.

Its objectives include setting a new world land speed record of 1,000mph and inspiring the next generation about science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

At 1,000mph, the supersonic car would cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds.

The current world land speed record of 763mph is held by Thrust SSC, which was led by Bloodhound's project director Richard Noble and driver Andy Green.