The Bloodhound Supersonic Car, a jet-and-rocket car on a wheeled chassis, was demonstrated in public for the first time on Thursday, performing two "slow speed" test runs to check systems and instruments.

The car is designed to go supersonic, break the existing land speed record and reach more than 1,000 miles per hour (1600 km/h) in runs next year.

Pilot Andy Green, holder of the current FIA land speed record of 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph) set at Black Rock Desert in USA on October 15, 1997 in ThrustSSC, said the two low speed runs at the Cornwall Airport in western England had gone exactly to plan.

Project personnel said the jet car had reached speeds of 200 to 210mph (about 337kph) during the runs. Green said he had throttled back the jet engine at 135mph (217km/h) with the car continuing to go faster before slowing.

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