Fifty seven years ago today, 8th March 1950, Rover unveiled JET1, their gas turbine prototype.
Yes, there have been other gas turbine prototype cars too, but I smiled as I read the optimism in these comments from the time;
news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/8/...m
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Was lucky to see it demonstrated at Silverstone,as you say we thought it might be the dawn of a new era for motoring.
ndbw
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Top speed 90, 0 - 60 in 14 seconds, wow!! And 7 mpg, don't tell Ken. At least they had a go. I think Graham Hill drove an experimental gas turbine F1 car a few years later. But not in a race, you need to complete at least one whole lap if you're going to pit for more fuel!
JH
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There was an evo version that used to do Le Mans.
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The gas turbine-powered Rover BRM co-driven by Graham Hill (I think) did indeed finish a race - Le Mans - and won a special award for being what it was. What a shame the legacy of this success was fatally cheapened by MG Rover when they introduced a totally ludicrous 'Rover BRM' special edition of the 200 that was an immediate laughing stock.
How many people remember that the Rover P6 - the 2000 and 3500 - was originally engineered to take a development of the gas turbine?
PS: Guess what I saw today, optimistically offered for sale on the forecourt of the former Rover dealer in Limoges, France - a Streetwise! Yes, they actually sold one new then took it back as a swapper! You couldn't make it up...
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What a shame the legacy of this success was fatally cheapened by MG Rover when they introduced a totally ludicrous 'Rover BRM' special edition of the 200 that was an immediate laughing stock.
MGR may have a lot to account for, but you are years out on your dates and information. The BRM was introduced by the BMW owned Rover company in 1998, not MG Rover - and it was only a Rover because BMW wouldn't allow the MG name to be used. Like a bad penny those BMW people eh lol
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OK, it wasn't MGR it was BMW - one abused the name BRM and they both abused the name of Rover, which saddens people like me who used to own real ones. I guess you have to be as old as I am to feel angry about that sort of thing.
I'm years out of date on most things but I can't help admiring someone who knows the exact date of introduction for something everyone else would rather forget. ;-)
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Didn't Volvo develop a gas-turbine / electric hybrid car in the early 90s?
The idea being to have a very small, ultra-efficient turbine which would simply drive a generator to charge batteries when needed.
Unlike the Honda / Toyota hybrids, I believe the only drive to the wheels was electric.
But the benefits were that the batteries didn't need to be huge 'cos they were kept at optimum charge by the turbine , the turbine could be quite small and always run at most efficient RPM (hence fuel efficient and lighter than a small petrol or diesel engine) .
Maybe gas turbines don't meet current emissions regs, who knows .....
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I remember seeing Jet 1 in the Science Museum in London when I was a young boy.
I believe it's still kept there.
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Graham Hill did indeed finish 10th at Le Mans in 1965. I took a good picture. If you want a copy just email me.
mikeholland(at)waitrose.com
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I seem to recall reading that the biggest problem with turbine powered cars was the immense lag between pressing the accelerator pedal and the engine responding. They were nigh on impossible to drive smoothly, particularly in heavy traffic.
Mazda were still exploring this avenue in the late 1980's. I recall an issue of What Car? at the time doing a roadtest on one of their prototypes and being very impressed with its power and refinement, but appalled by its driveability. The "throttle lag" was so bad that they felt it couldn't even be driven around given familiarity. I guess this was never resolved.
Cheers
DP
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Auckland and Christchurch { New Zealand } both have buses running with microturbines driving generators at essentially constant output, with the batteries carrying the surge loads of starts and hill-climbing, with Toyota-style regeneration on downhills. You have to look out for them though. Can't hear them coming, as distinct from the diesel units which can be hear a block away. Both cities use them within their respective C.B.D. as pollution minimisers.
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If you have registered (and it's free to do so if you haven't), then you can see original footage of the Rover jet car here:
tinyurl.com/228a3v
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I remember it well. I had the job of inserting thermocouples into the calipers of the Dunlop disc brakes to enable brake fluid temperatures to be monitored.
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L\'escargot.
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I assume the Rover BRM Le Mans car is still in the Donington Collection isn't it? It's a good looking motor.
Chrysler also had a go, they built 50 gas turbine cars in 1963/64 and lent them to the public for evaluation:
www.familycar.com/Classics/ChryslerTurboCar.htm .
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1966 Motor road test of Rover-BRM that had been raced at Le Mans, but was road legal, and was driven by motor for a week. 122bhp at 63,500rpm. 267lb. ft. at zero rpm. Tickover speed 35,000 rpm:) Top speed 142, 14mpg (on pump paraffin) overall, 22mpg touring. From the text: "the left foot must be used for braking, the right for acceleration, and the two mu be played against each other simultaneously."
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Yes I remember the article in Autocar. I think they refuelled at one of the old automatic dispensers where you put in a shilling? and it filled a one gallon can. Car had a large fuel tank IIRC so a lot of patience required!
I'll bet pedestrians had to watch out for their ankles being scorched.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Apparently garages were reluctant to dispense paraffin - presumably had visions of expensive mistake. Hadn't thought of scorched ankles, GWS, but the test said the outlet pipe temp. had to be kept below 750 degrees C. Ouch!
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