The next big thing in propulsion systems is of course fuel cells. A subject
no petrolhead is getting excited about. The prospect of a quiet, moderately
powered car isn't going to send a tingle up anyone's spine. Turn up at the pub
in your Honda Insight and you'll be glad it's quiet as you sneak it into a dark
corner of the car park.
Turn up in a gas turbine powered motor however and the exciting jet-like
whoosh should mean you don't even get to the bar for a drink. When it comes to
turning heads, start with ears!
Research into turbine powered cars started as long ago as 1928 when Opel
briefly experimented with the idea. Their prototype car briefly managed 47mph
but the project was canned shortly afterwards.
Before the Second World War, Rover were brought in to work with Frank Whittle
who was developing a gas turbine design for aeronautical use. Rover helped out
with engineering facilities and eventually produced designs of their own. Not
wanting to stay in the business of aeroplanes, Rover did a deal with Rolls Royce
where they swapped turbine technology for a derivative of the Merlin engine used
in Spitfires, which they then used in tanks.
Prototypes can still be seen at the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon |
They didn't completely turn their backs on the idea of gas turbines however.
In 1950 they showed the JET 1, a cut-and-shut Rover P4 saloon hosting a 100hp
turbine. It was good enough to take the car to 150mph.
Later cars such as the T3 and T4 were designed from the ground up to house
gas turbines. The T3 was unveiled in 1956. This featured a 110hp engine, four
wheel drive, a glass fibre body and four wheel disk brakes.
The T4 was derived from the forthcoming 2000 body style and heavily
influenced the design of that model. It was actually shown two years before the
debut of the 2000. At the time Rover claimed that if the market could accept the
price of £3-4000 then it could have been in production within three years.
However, at the time the most expensive Rover was £1948. With Kerosene
consuption of the 140hp turbine engine being 16-20mpg, it was never going to
compete with petrol engines on an economic basis.
The most spectacular car they produced however was the Le Mans racer! The
Rover-BRM racer was driven at Le Mans in 1963 by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther.
It wasn't officially competing so was awarded the number '00'. Had it competed,
it would have been classified 8th overall however.
In 1964 a rebodied Rover-BRM was dispatched to compete at the legendary race,
but was damaged in transit and couldn't race.
However in 1965 they did make it and the car - now featuring more air intakes
and better lighting - finished 10th overall, driven by Graham Hill and Jackie
Stewart.
1963 Chrysler Turbine
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The Americans weren't idle during this period either. Excited by the prospect
of jet powered cars, Chrysler worked on a number of projects, dropping turbines
into the enormous cars of the 50's and 60's, hoping to capture the thrill of the
space age in their car programmes.
In '63 Chrysler Corporation built over 50 gas turbine-powered cars. They put
them out on loan to members of the public for three months to gain feedback.
It's incredible to think that forty years ago there were motorists going
shopping in jet powered cars with rev counters showing a max rpm of 60,000.
Exhaust temperatures could read 2800 degrees Celcius!
Both General Motors and Fiat experimented with concepts during the era too.
Fiat's cars were sleek, futuristic looking prototypes, whilst GM appeared to lop
wings off jets and drop them onto the roads!
Whilst there benefits to turbine power, it's the cost that prevented large
scale production. Although power is ample from the units and the weight very low
(a 320hp unit can weigh just 60kg), a turbine producing as much power as a
healthy V8 will set you back around £25K. Fuel costs aren't particularly
favourable either. But they do make a great noise!
It's that spirit of excitement and disregard of costs that lets one company
produce some mad machinery. Marine Turbine in the US have several road going
applications including a pick up truck, a Dodge Viper and more bizarrely the
Y2K, 300bhp turbine powered motorbike! For $185,000 you can have a bike that
will do 0-227mph in 15 seconds. Expensive but strangely appealing...