Unfortunately for all of us eagerly awaiting updates and videos, Bloodhound LSR’s high speed desert testing is over. But the team stormed out, shattering the 600 mph target.

In its last race, the jet vehicle hit 628 mph, or 1,010 km / h. Faster than the cruising speed of a Boeing 747.

To put that in perspective, the press release states that at this speed Bloodhound would be able to get from London to Edinburgh (414 miles) in 39 minutes. Or for an example closer to the Kalahari Desert test location from Cape Town to Johannesburg in an hour and 23. It’s fast, then.

The last run was not far from the 650.88 mph achieved by Thrust 2 – the car that held the ground speed record from 1983 to 1997. And think, it’s not even Bloodhound’s. final form. He will be back in 12 to 18 months with a Nammo “monoergol rocket” to go even faster.

The Rolls-Royce EJ200 engine – something normally found in a Eurofighter Typhoon fighter plane – develops 90 kN of thrust, or around 54,000 hp. The rocket will work in conjunction with this, bringing an additional 60kN to the table.

It’s that extra weight that will help Bloodhound break through the sound barrier to its initial goal of 800mph, and possibly beyond 1000mph. And while the vehicle has yet to go supersonic, supersonic airflow has been detected below by some of the 192 pressure sensors. This air flow was fast enough to remove the paint. Ouch.