One of the world's fastest fire and emergency response vehicles will be supporting ThrustSSC in its World Land Speed Record bid. Developed and built by Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations Department in Coventry, the ultra-fast response tender is based on Jaguar's 155mph (250kph) supercharged XJR saloon.
The ThrustSSC XJR Firechase Car utilises Jaguar's experience gained from producing high speed fire and fast response vehicles for Britain's top motor racing circuits and building a fire tender to support Richard Noble when he set the current World Land Speed record in Thrust2 in 1983.
Engineers have left the 326 PS supercharged engine unchanged. However, suspension and steering systems have been uprated to carry the extra 1000kg of equipment. The rear passenger compartment has been totally transformed - it has been equipped with fire fighting equipment provided by Kidde-Graviner Ltd and a 200 litre foam tank with twin 5 metre hoses, specially designed by Kidde-Graviner Ltd and manufactured by PSP Safety Products Ltd. The luggage compartment stores an array of sophisticated rescue equipment:
The firechase crew will be wearing special silver coated fire suits made from materials supplied by Universal Carbon Fibres Ltd, who also supplied Andy's special fire suit.
Mike Hearn, responsible for specifying and installation of the equipment, is delighted with the results. He says "Jaguar and all of our equipment sponsors have done a tremendous job designing, building and equipping such a fantastic firechase vehicle".
Thanks to sponsors Supacat Ltd, Alvis Ltd and Traction Equipment Ltd, two Supacat 6x6 All Terrain Vehicles will be used as tow vehicles for ThrustSSC in the Jordanian desert. They will also double up as fuel and generator carriers. This arrangement means that while SSC is being towed it will be on external power from the generator carried by the Supacat. The fuel tank and electric pump combination provides a fully mobile refuelling pack for SSC.
The fuel pack consists of a 1000 litre tank which sits on two lockers. Each locker contains an electric fuel pump, a length of fuel hose and a fuel nozzle. The generator and battery pack fits in storage well between the lockers under the fuel tank.
The Supacat was chosen for this task because it offers the high power to weight ratio and high traction that is essential on the desert surface.
To move the ten tonne SSC plus the 3 tonne Supacat from rest will mean transferring the force needed straight on to the desert floor without spinning the wheels or digging up the surface. The Supacat's low gearing ratio and automatic gearbox deliver a high torque power to the road wheels with their 15 inch wide tyres which give plenty of traction to do this.
The facility of an Antanov transporter for getting the team to and from the desert makes it possible to fit both Scania 144 tractor units, the Tiltec trailer for transporting ThrustSSC, and a full 40ft trailer with the support equipment when it is flown to the test sites.
The trailer used to transport ThrustSSC has been custom designed and built by Tiltec, and delivered several months ago. Special 18 metre ramps have also been constructed to allow SSC to be winched into place. The Tiltec trailer has already been put to good used recently, when ThrustSSC was taken from Farnborough to Boscombe Down to complete the static engine tests.
Both the Tiltec trailer and the Pit trailer have been finished in the same pineapple yellow as the Scania units and now proudly show off their ThrustSSC and sponsors' logos.
The trailer has been fully fitted out by Brian Palmer and his team and will effectively mean our office and workshop can travel with us. The trailer is completely self-contained including its own electricity generators and even a phone to keep in contact with the UK! Brian has provided for the team's comforts (or is it the equipment's comforts?) by fully insulating the walls and fitting air conditioners in the various rooms inside the trailer. The trailer is divided into five sections inside:
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