Bloodhound car aiming for land speed record has final UK tests

Vehicle is to be shipped to South Africa - where goal is to reach speed of 1,000mph

A sleek machine that looks like a mash-up between a grandprix car, a fighter plane and a spaceship has undergone a final, ear-splitting test in the UK before being shipped to a desert in South Africa where it may eventually reach a speed of 1,000mph.

Over the past six months the Bloodhound LSR has taken shape in a workshop on a college campus in Gloucestershire and on Monday a "dry crank test" was carried out in which the car was powered up to confirm that the engine and systems had been correctly installed.