Bristol-built supersonic car Bloodhound has been given a new lease of life after being saved by a wealthy businessman.
The famous car, which will attempt to break the land speed record of 763mph, has the potential to reach speeds of 1,000mph.
The vehicle was first launched in 2007 but fell into administration in 2018 after failing to secure a £25million cash injection.
But just as all seemed lost, a little-known Yorkshire businessman stepped in to save the project.
Bristol-built 1000mph supersonic car Bloodhound relaunches with new look
That man was Ian Warhurst.
The millionaire businessman has Bristol-built 1000mph supersonic car Bloodhound relaunches with new look.
Ian spent an “undisclosed” amount on the car, which has since been renamed Bloodhound LSR.
He will not reveal how much he is planning to spend but claims the project will no longer face its biggest challenge - “cashflow problems”.
The plan, says Ian, is to split the project into two parts.
First, the team will attempt to break the land speed record of 763mph, they will then attempt to drive the car at 1,000mph.
Who is Ian Warhurst?
The softly-spoken entrepreneur admits he’s “nervous” ahead of the big launch of Bloodhound LSR, including speaking to the press.
“It’s so exciting but I am nervous,” he admitted. “I think I am most excited about getting the car to the desert.
“For the last 10 years there has been lots of CGI footage produced. But we are not going to do that because we are going to get the car out in the desert and that is the most exciting thing of all.
"Standing and watching the car set off for the first time will be incredible.”
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Before buying up Bloodhound LSR, Ian was the owner and director of a multi-million pound engineering business, Melett, which he bought with his wife Nicola in 2002.
The company, based in Barnsley in Yorkshire, makes turbocharger repair kits for the automotive industry.
Melett made a gross profit of £11.8million in 2018 - up from £10.6million in 2017. Its turnover in 2018 was £30million.
The company was sold for an undisclosed amount to US-based Wabtec Corporation in 2017 and, according to Companies House, Ian resigned as a director of the business on 30 November that same year.
In 2017, Insider Media claimed Ian was worth around £60million.
Regardless of how much wealth this entrepreneur has accrued, what is clear is that he has a vision - and the funding to take a multi-million pound Bloodhound LSR project forward.
Commercially savvy, Ian is planning to attract investment by selling advertising on the side of the car as well as funding the project himself.
“I am cash flowing the project to allow it to get going,” he explained.
“We don’t know the dates yet. But we have a team of 15 and we are planning to get out to the desert for high-speed test runs as soon as possible.
“The plan is within 12 months of within that date we should be able to go back out for second deployment and achieve the land speed record.”
Ian, who says he is now building a budget for the project, admits "a lot of challenges" lie ahead.
He explained: “The biggest one is getting the car to do what it is supposed to do. It is very difficult what we are trying to achieve. There is a lot of teamwork involved.
“Getting the car physically out to South Africa is a big challenge so we are looking for partners for that and the concern is the temperature as it is very hot out there so making sure everything works in those climates.”
Despite the challenges that await him Ian is confident - and his vision is clear.
The question is, will he pull it all off?
Only time will tell.
