Video: Watch a drag race between Bloodhound LSR, an F1 car and a Chiron

Luckily, there’s more than enough inquisitive souls in this world to ensure that would eventually happen, and earlier this year we were treated to the holy grail of drag races: the EJ200 Eurofighter jet-engined Bloodhound LSR vs. a Formula 1 car vs. a Bugatti Chiron – with a standard road car chucked in for perspective. Apart from, due to the Coronavirus crisis, the latter three were digitally represented on the video with coloured dots, with their acceleration and top speed superimposed on to the desert race strip, and adjustments made to account for traction on the dusty surface, which is estimated to be about a third that of regular tarmac.  

The thrust-driven Bloodhound suffered no such constraints on its regular proving ground of the Hakskeenpan, a dry lakebed in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa. However, it certainly wasn’t the first off the line, with the state-of-the-art jet engine taking some time to spool up and start producing thrust, and a few seconds longer to implement the afterburners, which sends flames shooting from the back of the car.

While the Formula 1 racer, Bugatti Chiron and the standard road car soon reach their maximum velocity – at 248mph, 203mph and 110mph respectively – the Bloodhound perseveres, pushing to an incredibly 628mph. Not only was the blistering speed a new record for the revived Bloodhound project, but it places it as unofficially, as the sixth fastest car of all time. The other cars never stood a chance…

Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day. Watch the last video: Here’s every great touring car imaginable screaming round the Nürburgring