Petrol heads and speed freaks will 'test drive' a supersonic car when a major new festival drives on to Great Yarmouth seafront later this year.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: The launch of the GY Wheels Festival. The model of the record breaking land speed car the Bloodhound, with it's ambassador Peter Harrison. Picture: DENISE BRADLEYThe launch of the GY Wheels Festival. The model of the record breaking land speed car the Bloodhound, with it's ambassador Peter Harrison. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Copyright: Archant 2015)

The star attraction at the first GY Wheels Festival, taking place on Marine Parade over two days in September, will be a full-sized replica of a Bloodhound SSC, a British-built jet- and rocket-powered super car that is designed to reach speeds of 1,000mph. Next year the real Bloodhound will attempt to smash the world land speed record.

Bringing the replica to Yarmouth on September 12 and 13 will give car enthusiasts the chance to get a feel for the mean machine, as the seafront is the only location in East Anglia that the Bloodhound Roadshow is coming to before the team heads to South Africa in summer 2016 when it will attempt to reach 800mph and then 1,000mph.

Jointly organised by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area, with extra funding from Joyland and the American Diner, the free GY Wheels festival aims to further extend the tourism season.

There will be scores of prestige and novelty cars parked on the seafront - ranging from the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and the Inbetweeners car, to Barbie's car, a Hummer, and limousines. There will also be a Bloodhound test drive simulator and the chance for youngsters to make and race compressed air-powered K'Nex cars.

The Autobahn Stormers Club will be showing off their Lotus Carltons on Anchor Gardens, where young people will also be able to design their own rocket cars in blocks of Styrofoam as part of an educational workshop.

Also at the festival will be model vehicles from the Lowestoft Mechanical Engineering Exhibition (LOWMEX) and representatives from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET).

Peter Harrison, a Bloodhound ambassador who lives in Poringland near Norwich, said: 'Bloodhound SSC is not just about smashing the world record but also about inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers, encouraging young people to choose to study science, technology, engineering and maths.

'Yarmouth, as a hugely popular family resort, is therefore the ideal location – and the GY Wheels Festival will ensure that even more people can enjoy the unique Bloodhound experience.'

Cllr Barry Coleman, the council's deputy leader whose portfolio includes tourism, said: 'The borough council is delighted to be working with partners to stage this free festival, which aims to provide yet another reason to visit the borough later in the season and thereby support the local economy.

'The GY Wheels Festival is a great addition to our growing calendar of festivals. We know from other car festivals around the UK, and the popularity of shows like Top Gear, that cars have a very wide appeal.

'We already have a great line-up, with more vehicular attractions still to be announced, and it has been a major coup to secure the official replica of Bloodhound SSC – a name which everyone will hear a lot more of in the coming months.'