All Wheel Drive Jaguar F-Type partners up with Bloodhound SSC team

• Jaguar announces major partnership with British World Land Speed Record Team
• Bloodhound SSC to make World Land Speed Record attempt in 2015 then target 1,000 MPH in 2016
• All-wheel-drive is one of a number of performance enhancements to the Jaguar F-TYPE range – the new F-TYPE range will debut at the LA Auto Show on 19 November 2014
• AWD Jaguar F-TYPE R carries out key communications test on the Hakskeen Pan in the Northern Cape, South Africa

The new all-wheel-drive Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé ensured the Bloodhound SSC World Land Speed Record programme passed a significant high-speed testing milestone, the test marks the start of a major technical partnership between Jaguar and The Bloodhound Project. 

With the ultimate aim of raising the world land speed record above 1,000mph and to assist in inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers, which is the overall objective of the project. The current record stands at 763.035mph and was set by Andy Green in Thrust SSC in 1997. Andy will drive the Bloodhound Supersonic car.

On the relatively soft surface of the Hakskeen Pan desert in the Northern Cape of South Africa, the stability of the AWD F-TYPE R Coupé and its dynamic ability - it will reach 60mph in just 3.9-seconds with a limited top speed of 186mph - enabled the successful completion of a vital communications test for the Bloodhound SSC team.

Ian Hoban, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar said: “Our target with engineering the all-wheel drive F-TYPE was to maintain the engaging rear-drive character that’s so important to Jaguar sports cars, yet offer even greater dynamic capability. The result is a controllable, exploitable and blisteringly fast performance car in all weather and road conditions.”

The AWD F-TYPE R Coupé was driven flat-out by Bloodhound Project Director and former World Land Speed Record holder, Richard Noble who said: “We are absolutely delighted to announce Jaguar as a Main Partner to the Bloodhound Project. This is a very fine match – Jaguar is very strong on innovation and with its huge drive in advanced technology, education and motorsport track record, we have the perfect partner. Together we have developed outstanding inter-team synergy and this is a very special relationship.  We are proud to carry the Jaguar branding on Bloodhound SSC.”

Fitted with the same radio equipment as the jet and rocket powered Bloodhound SSC, the F-TYPE was driven head-to-head at top speed with a similarly equipped jet flown at 500mph and just 50 feet above the ground. The combined closing speed of almost 700mph enabled the successful test of the system that will allow communications between the ground crew and Andy Green in Bloodhound SSC, which will run for the first time on the Hakskeen desert just twelve months from now.

The addition of all-wheel-drive is one of a number of performance enhancements to the award-winning Jaguar F-TYPE range which will grow from six to 14 derivatives in 2015 – the full range will debut at the LA Auto Show on 19 November. 

The Jaguar Land Rover press conference will take place at 14:40 PST (22:40 GMT).  Also at the press conference will be Andy Green, who will confirm the full extent of the technical collaboration between Jaguar and the Bloodhound Project.

BLOODHOUND SSC gets bespoke equipment from ROLEX.

Rolex, the leading luxury watchmaking brand, has revealed the two bespoke instruments it exclusively developed and manufactured for BLOODHOUND SSC, the supersonic car. 

True to its philosophy, Rolex has combined world class technology with exacting standards of precision and

reliability to create these highly accurate instruments that will be installed in the cockpit of BLOODHOUND SSC as it aims to set a new World Land Speed Record of 1,000 miles per hour (1609.34 km/h) in South Africa in 2015/2016 and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. 

Rolex joined the BLOODHOUND SSC project in 2011 as the Official Timing Partner and thanks to its in-house engineering expertise, was in the best position to meet BLOODHOUND SSC driver Andy Green’s needs for two key cockpit instruments: an analogue speedometer and chronograph.

These two vital instruments, with characteristic Rolex analogue dials, will sit either side of Andy Green’s hands on the left and right of the dashboard. The speedometer and the chronograph will be essential and independent complements to the central electronic screens that will display data during BLOODHOUND SSC’s runs.

Building on Rolex’s legendary reliability, these highly accurate instruments will provide a necessary visual reference and fail-safe back-up for some of the on-screen readouts during the two critical phases in the record bid: assisting precision braking from 1,000 mph on the 20-kilometre track and for timekeeping during the turnaround in-between the two mandatory record runs.

BLOODHOUND SSC will be fully assembled by mid-2015 and will then start running in the UK and South Africa ahead of its World Land Speed Record attempt in 2016.

Mr Arnaud Boetsch, Communication & Image Director of Rolex SA, said: “As the leading luxury watchmaking brand, Rolex felt the nature and the global appeal of the partnership with BLOODHOUND SSC was of clear interest and in line with Rolex’s strategy to partner with projects that have strong symbolic value.

The BLOODHOUND SSC project is one of the most highly technological global initiatives driven by a spirit of extraordinary human endeavour. The association marks Rolex’s support for projects that share a passion for performance and precision, founded on their pursuit of excellence in technology and innovative engineering.

Given Rolex’s history in the world of speed, which goes back to an association with Sir Malcolm Campbell during his World Land Speed Record successes in the 1930s, and BLOODHOUND SSC’s mission to inspire the next generation to embrace science and technology, the partnership with BLOODHOUND SSC is a natural fit.”

Andy Green, BLOODHOUND SSC driver, said: “BLOODHOUND SSC is a project with strong symbolic values, not only designing and building the fastest car on earth but ultimately inspiring the next generation to take on careers in science and technology.

We are delighted to have Rolex supporting this project both from a technical and inspirational point of view.

We were looking to have independent and reliable devices to measure speed and time during the record attempt. These high-precision instruments will not only give me a visual reference of the speed, both in acceleration and most importantly on braking, but also help during the precise turnaround the car will have to go through in a limited time. Given their technical and engineering expertise, Rolex was the perfect partner to develop such unique and important instruments.”