FORMULA One world champion Lewis Hamilton will be keeping an eye the North-East while experts work on plans for the world’s fastest car – capable of reaching speeds of 1,000mph.

Professor Dave Crolla, an automotive expert at the University of Sunderland, is part of a team of British engineers working on the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC) project, which has been described as a “great British engineering adventure” by the Government.

The team is designing a car powered by a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and hybrid rocket that will be capable of about 1,050 mph – twice the speed of a bullet fired from a handgun. It is expected the car will be able to accelerate from 0 to 1,050mph in only 40 seconds.

It is hoped the car will break the land speed record, which is 763mph, set in 1997 by Wing Commander Andy Green. He will also pilot the Bloodhound.

The Bloodhound SSC should be completed by the end of next year, but will probably be ready for a land speed record attempt in 2011.

Prof Crolla, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, has been involved in the analysis of the vehicle dynamics, stability and control using mathematical modelling.

He said: “Sunderland is recognised as one of the UK’s leading universities for automotive engineering for its work on advanced manufacturing with Nissan, and for its research into hybrid electric and lowcarbon vehicles.

“It is now involved in what Science Minister Lord Drayson has described as a great British engineering adventure. One of the most challenging aspects of this project is to keep the vehicle stable and in contact safely with the ground up to 1,000mph.”