For all who love the whistle of their turbo's. It even runs on tequila!<br>www.turbinecar.com

 

&quot;Vince Granatelli, Andy's son, built a turbine-powered Corvette in 1979. The engine for this conversion was originally designed to power an oil-field generator. It developed 880 bhp and delivered 1,160 lb./ft. of torque. Rpm was so high that at idle the Corvette was running 60 mph, and the only way it could be slowed in city traffic was with the brakes. Needless to say, performance was a little hairy&quot; <br><br>This is the part that caught my eye... The motors are lighter and produce more power than a piston engine of the same weight.

 

One of my high school teachers had one of the turbine cars to use for 3 months. As I recall it was a really neat vehicle. I really expected the turbine engine to go into production. There were rumors of oil companies buying up the patents to prevent production. The car did have a very cool jet-like turbine whine.

 

my father who is 50 years young told me that back in the day, CHRYSLER gave out some of those cars to the public to see how they faired in daily situations-<br><br> just a few months back he was telling me that one of his high school teachers owned one here in overland park kansas and ACTUALLY drove it on the streets here!!!<br><br> perhaps i need my dad to post more about it, since he has actually seen one with his own eyes....<br><br>anyone else hear this story?

 

guess i was right!! <br>As mentioned, of the 55 cars built, five remained with Chrysler Research, and the other 50 went out into private hands. Chrysler announced its intention to lend out the 50 cars to private individuals on May 14,1963. Within six weeks, 30.000 volunteers had sent in unsolicited requests. Exactly 203 drivers were chosen from all walks of life and all parts of the country. Twenty-three were women, the rest men. Each received the free, unrestricted use of a turbine car for three months. at the end of which time the vehicle went on to the next individual. The public test pro gram began on October 29,1963 and ended 27 months later. <br>Of the other 50 cars in private hands ...the main purpose was to see whether the American public would accept a complete change in its powerplant, This was the big question, and it still is says George Huebner. Other goals of the program included publicity for the gas turbine, along with field testing for fuel mileage, reliability, flexibility durability, and possible unforeseen problems. <br><br><br>

 

1963 Chrysler is on My Classic Car, Speedvision channel 3:30 p.m. central time.

 

Dang! I don't have cable. I did some searching and found a guy That put a surplus turbine from a helecopter into his boat. It truley was a &quot;jet boat&quot; boogied pretty good too.