Originally Posted by jondc9
o
I even once witnessed a turbine powered auto at a fair back in '64 I think. not a jet pushing the thing like on the salt flats, but hooked up to a transmission like a large lincoln or cadillac.
jon
bring back NERVA
The Science Museum in London has a turbine Rover from the 50's. There was a turbine driven BRM that was around for a while that competed at Le Mans.
From Wikpedia:
In 1950, designer F. R. Bell and Chief Engineer Maurice Wilks from British car manufacturers Rover unveiled the first car powered with a gas turbine engine. The two-seater JET1 had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 140 km/h, at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The car ran on petrol, paraffin or diesel oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production car. It is currently on display at the London Science Museum. Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce a gas turbine powered coupe, which entered the 1963 24 hours of Le Mans, driven by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h).