EQUIPMENT supplied by a Bolton-based firm will be used by a team trying to smash the world land speed record.

Seddons Plant and Engineers Ltd, on Edgefold Industrial Estate, Plodder Lane, is providing a total of five Honda Generators for use by the Bloodhound project team.

The project centres on Bloodhound SSC, a supersonic car that is designed not only to go faster than the speed of sound but to more than 1,000mph.

The design of the car is a mix of car and aircraft technology, with the front section comprising a carbon fibre monocoque and the back portion featuring a metallic framework and panels.

The car will be powered by both a jet engine and a rocket, which together will produce more than 135,000 horsepower – more than six times the power of all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together.

Funding has been secured, with major deals recently signed, and race preparation is under way for high speed runs at the Hakskeen Pan, South Africa, in autumn next year.

Bloodhound SSC will travel under its own power for the first time in Newquay in June 2017, in a slow speed shakedown test at about 220mph. This will also provide an opportunity for the team to practice live-streaming data and imagery from the car, as a key aspect of the mission to share the adventure with a global audience.

The Bloodhound project is emerging as an iconic initiative that is likely to stand in the history books of British engineering and manufacturing for many years to come.

The five Honda Generators supplied by Seddons Plant and Engineers Ltd are being used for refuelling rigs in South Africa during the record attempt, and Honda Power Equipment is loaning a further five Honda Generators.

Project director Richard Noble said: “This is probably the biggest moment in the project’s history – now we can put our foot down and really go for it!

“We’re in this position thanks to the incredible support of our partners and sponsors, and the dedication and sacrifice of many people, including a skeleton crew who have held the fort recently.”

Bloodhound SSC has been built to smash the current land speed record of 763mph set by another British car, Thrust SSC, in 1997. The first aim is to reach 800mph on the special track that has been prepared in South Africa, but the ultimate objective is to push the record above 1,000mph in 2018.