Work has begun on the construction of a 1,000mph car aiming to beat the land speed record — with the help of Midlands firms’ expertise.

Bloodhound SSC is a jet-powered vehicle that is being prepared for a shot at the current world record of 763mph.

Some seven firms from the Midlands have been involved in the manufacturing process to date, with the aerospace arm of Brierley Hill-based Hampson Industries being responsible for part of the chassis.

Hampson’s global marketing and business director Mark Abbey described the firm’s involvement as “a fantastic engineering adventure”.

He said the car would generate a massive 133,000bhp — equivalent to the output of some 200 Bugatti Veyrons.

The chassis will be constructed of hard steel with an alloy skin and Mr Abbey said that Hampson’s aerospace experience would be utilised. He said: “We have a long-established history of making similar products. Although it’s a car there’s a lot of similarities with what we produce for the aerospace industry.”

When construction and testing has been completed on the Bloodhound car the world record attempt will be made in South Africa’s Northern Cape province by Wing Commander Andy Green — “the fastest man on Earth”.

He will be aiming to beat his own world land speed record which was set in 1997 in the USA in ThrustSSC.

The new car is 44ft long, over 7ft tall and designed to reach a speed of 1,050mph.

It is powered initially by a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine which takes it to 350mph in 15 seconds. Then a hybrid rocket launches and accelerates the car to over 1,000mph in just 40 seconds.

Stopping power is provided by air brakes and a parachute, which deploys at 600mph, to slow it down.

The project is costing £10 million and the progress of the car can be followed via its internet site www.bloodhoundssc.com

The Bloodhound project also aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers and already some 4,000 schools have registered for an education project involving science and mathematics lessons.

Hampson’s work on Bloodhound should be completed towards the end of this year, with the land-speed bid due to take place in autumn 2012.

Other Midlands firms involved with the project include Worcester-based Andrews Precision, which has helped balance the rig for initial tests, while Factory Master from Warwickshire have supplied software to Bloodhound engineers.