Bloodhound LSR

The Bloodhound LSR supersonic car's latest run in the South African desert brought it to a blistering 628 mph (1,010 km/h), with the team now gearing up for a land speed record attempt a year or so down the track.

After bouncing back from near-bankruptcy to embark on a new round of testing in the South African desert, things are now going rather swimmingly for the folks behind the Bloodhound LSR supersonic car, reaching 501 mph in the South African desert.

At the end of October, the Bloodhound supersonic car team clocked up a new record for the decade-plus project of 334 mph. On Friday, the car pushed past the 450 mph mark and came tantalizingly close to Bloodhound LSR's current target of 500 mph.

Looking to maintain its forward momentum, the Bloodhound LSR team has taken to a lakebed in a South African desert for a test run, in which its jet-engine-powered vehicle reached its fastest speeds yet.

Saved from bankruptcy by entrepreneur Ian Warhurst earlier this year, the Bloodhound Land Speed Record project is now in South Africa to start a high speed testing program ahead of a world record attempt next year.