A JET-POWERED car which will melt the earth as it attempts to reach 1,000mph is another step closer to reality — thanks to engineers from Swansea.

The Bloodhound Supersonic project celebrates its first anniversary today, with aerodynamics experts from Swansea University very much involved.

Staff from the university's School of Environment and Society have also helped by identifying a suitable stretch of land to switch on the afterburners — a mud plain in Northern Cape province, South Africa.

University researcher Ben Evans, who is on the Bloodhound design team, was facing a media scrum in Bristol today, where the machine will be built.

Dr Evans, who specialises in computational fluid dynamics, said: "We are right at the end of the design phase now. We are just tweaking things. We think it'll take a year for the car to be built."

He said there had been numerous challenges for his team of four researchers to overcome.

"Nothing like this has been done before," he said.

"The aerodynamics are so much more complex."

The aim of the project is to beat the current land speed record, 763mph, with a car powered by a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and boasting wheels made of carbon-reinforced aluminium, or solid titanium.

It has been reported the car will send out a frontal shock wave that liquifies the ground as it approaches the speed of sound.

Former RAF fighter pilot Andy Green, who will be behind the wheel, said: "Our biggest single concern is to make sure the vehicle stays on the ground."

The Bloodhound team faces competition from a supersonic car team from Australia and the United States.

"I think the Australians are more realistic contenders," said Dr Evans.

Some criticism has been voiced about the environmental impact of the project, some of which is audited on the Bloodhound website, but many argue that inspiring young scientists, engineers and mathematicians is worth its weight in gold.

Swansea University said 2,000 primary schoolchildren in Wales have been learning about the Bloodhound car.

WEB LINK: http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/