The Structure
Quicksilver's main hull structure is an ingenious marriage of high-tensile steel tubing and honeycomb-sandwich skinning. The steel tubing, made to aircraft standards, has been manufactured by Accles & Pollock from material supplied by British Steel/Corus. The honeycomb-sandwich skinning will be manufactured from materials supplied by Hexcel Composites, which - with an annual group turnover of $1 billion - is the world's largest manufacturer of composite materials. There is a link with the past. Accles & Pollock and Hexcel played key roles in the construction of Donald Campbell's Bluebird boat and car respectively.
The primary element of the main hull structure is the spaceframe. It was fabricated by PDS (CNC) Engineering, in collaboration with BOC, which undertook all of the welding. PDS specialises in high-precision machining and prototype work.
After the euphoria of Andy Green's supersonic World Land Speed Record triumph in Richard Noble's ThrustSSC jet-car in 1997, enthusiasts have been eager for a new Absolute record bid to cheer on. Now, in the futuristic shape of Quicksilver, that opportunity exists.