1,000 mph car ‘on track’ to break record

British officials say they’re set to break the world land speed record in 2012 with a car that can reach 1,000 mph. Construction on the Bloodhound vehicle's rear should begin in January.



"We've got companies all over the world wanting to sponsor the car," project director Richard Noble of Bloodhound SSC Engineering Adventure told BBC News. "We've actually got more people who want to financially back this thing than we've got space for them."

To snag the world record, the Bloodhound will need to beat out the current record of 763 mph set by the Thrust SuperSonic Car in 1997.

The British car will be powered by a hybrid rocket and a jet engine from a Eurofighter-Typhoon, according to Bloodhound SSC.

Once built and ready to go, the car is expected to race across what is now a dried-up lake bed in Northern Cape Province, South Africa.