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Bloodhound SSC makes its speed-ready debut in London

Bloodhound SSC, the 1,000-mph land speed record contender, broke cover this week in Canary Wharf, London, in the heart of the Docklands financial district. "This is the best of British engineering meets the best of British banking," quipped Philip Dunne, MP, minister of state for defense procurement, which has provided backing for the team in terms of Army and Royal Air Force personnel and equipment. The team announced that Bloodhound will do its first test runs in Newquay, Cornwall, next spring before traveling to Hakskeen Pan in northwest South Africa in the fall. There, on October 15, 2016, it will make its first attempt on the land speed record, which currently stands at 763.035 miles per hour. That speed was set by Thrust SSC in the Black Rock desert on October 15, 1997 by Bloodhound's driver, Andy Green. Nineteen years later to the day, Green will be shooting for a speed over 800 mph. Over 8,000 people will come to Canary Wharf to see this extraordinary jet- and rocket-powered car over the next couple of days. This is the first-ever viewing of the machine in assembled form. The right-hand side is fully dressed in desert spec, complete with forged aluminum wheels and aerodynamics. The left-hand side is in 'naked' Newquay test spec, with panels removed for easy access and the whole thing riding on rubber tires that can run on tarmac. First impressions are of a big yet muscular car simply crammed with engines, jets, and rockets. The most recognizable thing, apart from the seven fire extinguishers, is the Jaguar AJ133 5.0-liter V8, lifted from an F-Type, which will run the fuel pumps that deliver over 211 gallons of high-test peroxide over the rocket motor's 20-second burn time. The EJ200 Typhoon military jet engine occupies the top floor and provides nine tons of thrust, and underneath is the single Nammo rocket motor providing an additional four tons. "When we go for 1,000 mph, we'll need another two rocket motors," says Mark Chapman, Bloodhound's chief engineer. "That total additional eight tons of thrust is what we'll need to get from 800 to 1,000 mph." He explains that the rear of the car will have to be redesigned to accommodate the two additional rocket motors, and the suspension might have to be adapted with longitudinal rear spring units like the fronts. There are still unknowns in the project, such as the area of vacuum that will follow the car several meters behind.

New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt | Autoblog Minute

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again.Senior editor Greg Migliore reports in the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly. UAW/Unions Bentley Honda Jaguar Porsche Tesla Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video FCA porsche mission e civic

Jaguar Land Rover exploring 3D HUD and infotainment projections

With its most recent technology research, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is exploring the use of 3D projections for a world before and/or after autonomous vehicles come to fruition. In collaboration with the United Kingdom's University of Cambridge, JLR has developed concepts for a 3D head-up display that shows information on the road ahead and a system that projects personalized 3D infotainment for vehicle passengers.  As of right now, hundreds of production vehicles are equipped with two-dimensional head-up displays, some color, others black and white. Using various techniques and different technologies, manufacturers display information in a flat image in front of a driver. Some might find it distracting or unhelpful to have this in the driver's line of sight, and JLR might have found a solution. Rather than wedge the information in between the person and the view ahead, a 3D system that uses augmented reality could display the info onto the road in front of the driver. JLR thinks the system could project navigation directions, safety alerts such as lane departure, hazard detection or other bits typically found in a car's infotainment or instrument cluster. Some might find this to be even more distracting that 2D head-up displays, but to each his or her own. While the 3D head-up display is something that could be used right now, if it were released and passed legal, part two of JLR's 3D technology research is imagined for a life where truly autonomous vehicles are skating across the country. Using head- and eye-tracking technology, the system could lock into the position of numerous people in a vehicle and give each of them a personalized 3D projection "screen." This could be used to track a trip, look up points of interest, or even watch movies. JLR points out this could be used during ride-sharing without bothering others in the vehicle. The work with the Center for Advanced Photonics and Electronics at Cambridge is still in development for now, but it's only a matter of time before 3D tech makes it into cars in some degree.