Autoblog

Paul Stender returns with cruise missile-powered Impala [UPDATE]

Jeff Sabatini — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:59:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Videos, Humor

It was the urban legend to top them all, the one every car guy wants to be true: Dude straps a jet engine to his Impala and goes for the ride of his life, which, of course, ends with his death.

Even though it dates back to the 1960's, according to rumor-debunking website Snopes.com, it was the first big Internet-fueled urban legend, spread across the world in 1995 by then-novel e-mails with subjects like "Darwin Award Winner."

Of course, there's no such thing as the Darwin Awards. But now, finally, there is a JATO-powered Impala. The genius of race car driver Paul Stender, he of jet-powered port-o-potty and 350-mph school bus fame, this '67 Impala was conceived with the best intentions: Make the legend come true. And yes, we know the subject was covered in the very first pilot episode of Mythbusters, but they didn't use the right rocket, did they?

Click past the jump to see video of the rocket-powered beater Chevy.

UPDATE: The YouTube video has been removed at the request of Paul Stender, who claimed it was in violation of his copyright.

Paul Stender returns with cruise missile-powered Impala [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Turbine-powered golf cart is the quickest way to the clubhouse

Zach Bowman — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc., Videos, Humor

Jet-powered golf cart - Click above to watch video after the jump

There are plenty of fine reasons to play golf. Everyone needs an excuse to get outside and stretch their legs, and smacking the life out of a little white ball is a socially acceptable way to relieve stress with a club. But for many of us, the only reason to get on the green is to get behind the wheel of a golf cart. Our short game may be the living definition of embarrassing, but we'd like to imagine we could execute a fine handbrake turn behind the wheel of an electric rental.

If that's not entertaining enough to wet your whistle, you can always add the thrill of a turbine engine to the mix. We're not exactly sure where the gentleman in the video after the jump got the idea to strap a small jet engine to the back of his custom golf cart, but we like where his head's at. Odds are the other players may have a small problem with the racket that his contraption makes, but that's their problem, right?. Hit the jump to check it out.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Turbine-powered golf cart is the quickest way to the clubhouse

Turbine-powered golf cart is the quickest way to the clubhouse originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mini Cooper S gets some jet-propelled junk in the trunk

Aaron Richardson — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Videos, Hatchback, Mini, Specialty

Mini Cooper S Turbine - Click above to watch the video after the jump

Every once in a while, a car comes along that really gives us pause. This is one of those times. On the one hand, a jet-powered anything is cool. On the other, this is a Mini Cooper S that utlizes its original, turbocharged inline-four and an old Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C20B helicopter turbine to make a combined 650 horsepower that can't dust a GT-R on the drag strip. It seems a little... anti-climactic.

Still, we must tip our hat to the Floridian hoon who ordered up this beastly Mini Cooper S from BMP Design out of Tyler, Texas. His heart is in the right place, and he's sure to surprise anyone he lines up next to.

We're especially fond of the custom-made roof, which is designed to let the turbines burp their fiery exhaust without roasting the fool sitting behind you in traffic. The throttle for the twin jets, which require their own separate fuel tank, is a handle next to the driver's seat - a feature lifted directly from the chopper the engines were born in.

Regardless of our misgivings about the Mini this jet-propelled bomb is based on, hoonage on this level deserves some serious credit. Check out the videos after the break, and try not to mind the lame soundtrack.

[Source: YouTube via Jalopnik]

Continue reading Video: Mini Cooper S gets some jet-propelled junk in the trunk

Video: Mini Cooper S gets some jet-propelled junk in the trunk originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: F1 turbine engine proposal being analyzed by FIA?

Noah Joseph — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 11:07:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Think F1 racers are more like fighter jets than cars? You're not far off. Both F1 cars and jets are made primarily of lightweight composites, travel at ludicrous speeds, generate unfathomable Gs of force, have single-seat cockpits, cost millions of dollars, and are developed (and operated) by more engineers than a train yard full of locomotives. And the similarities could be getting even closer if the latest reports are anything to go by.

After recently reporting on a potential shift to small-displacement turbocharged engines in the sport, Pitpass.com says that a proposal on allowing the use of gas turbine engines is now being looked at by the FIA. The proposal was reportedly submitted by Project 1221, which says it could supply teams with race-ready turbines as soon as 2013 if the FIA were to give it the nod. F1 fanatics may recall that Lotus toyed with turbine power back in the 1970s, but never scored a better finish than eighth place at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix before giving up on the project.

The incorporation of turbines would bring several benefits while requiring significant re-adjustments to the current formula. Although turbines use more fuel, they require far less maintenance than a conventional internal-combustion engine - especially the highly-stressed units made for F1. Turbines can run on biofuels, allowing F1 to take a step forward as a "green" leader in motorsports. Since turbines cannot, however, be used as a stressed member of a car's chassis construction - another innovation pioneered, somewhat ironically, by Lotus - teams employing turbine power would have to switch to a space frame chassis design. Any drawbacks would be offset by the turbine's smaller form.

Though many teams - complete-package constructors like Ferrari especially - would be hesitant to adopt turbine propulsion, one could easily imagine independents like Red Bull (to say nothing of the reborn Lotus team) jumping at the opportunity. A level playing field would have to be established through equalization regulations with conventional engines, but the people behind Project 1221 say that limiting their turbines' output would be relatively straightforward, opening the door to multiple engine types in the series. That's if this idea ever moves anywhere beyond the proposal stage -- a pretty big "if" at that.

[Source: Pitpass]

Report: F1 turbine engine proposal being analyzed by FIA? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 25 Apr 2010 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Bonfire building made easy with jet-powered car

Dan Roth — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Lifestyle

As a former Boy Scout, I learned a variety of creative ways to set things alight, usually involving some type of accelerant. These guys have dreamt up a way that even pyromaniac 12 year olds can't top. We're guessing that thet don't worry about rain soaking their matches -- they just wheel out the Pratt & Whitney and give a couple squeezes on the afterburner. It's an awful lot of effort to burn a pile of sticks, and if you're not careful, you could blow a semi-lit mass of twigs clear to the next block. I love the way they stand there admiring their work, drinking beer at the very end of the video. Does it get any finer than that?

Check the jump to see the video

[Source: Break.com]

Continue reading VIDEO: Bonfire building made easy with jet-powered car

VIDEO: Bonfire building made easy with jet-powered car originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay find of the day: Jet-engined go kart (w/ videos)

Alex Nunez — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 18:52:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

Click image for gallery

Wanna make a wheeled vehicle more interesting? Affix a jet engine to it. And that's just what the owner of the go-kart you see above did. Powering the kart is a mil-spec JFS-100 engine -- the type used as a starter (JFS = jet fuel starter) for the larger main engines on aircraft such as the A7 Corsair attack plane. In addition to the jet engine, the kart's got a push-button afterburner setup that ups the ante by creating "extra thrust, noise, and spectacular fire and smoke effects." Cool!

Instruments include an EGT gauge and an RPM Meter, all neatly organized in front of the driver. There are no hard performance numbers for this little missile, but we'll assume it's plenty fast, and the owner says that it's stable at speed and handles exceptionally well. If you're able to arrange for local pickup in Inverness, UK, it can be yours, too. The bidding opens at £5,000.

UPDATE: Videos added after the jump

[Source: eBay UK via Engadget]

Gallery: Jet-Powered Go Kart

Continue reading eBay find of the day: Jet-engined go kart (w/ videos)

eBay find of the day: Jet-engined go kart (w/ videos) originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 16 Jun 2007 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Jet-powered VW New Beetle

John Neff — Wed, 03 May 2006 12:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Volkswagen

Astute readers of Autoblog will no doubt remember pics of the jet-powered Volkswagen New Beetle we posted a while back. Owner Ron Patrick was recently interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle and fired up the fire-breathing Beetle on camera.

While Patrick admits the car was built more for show than go, the video of the Beetle's brakes straining to keep the car planted while the jet engine is spooled up to 25,000 rpm proves this Franken-bug is no show pony. Patrick also admits to having flipped the jet switch on the highway while doing 100 mph.

Patrick reveals a few interesting details about his bug in the interview like the fact that it swills kerosene at the rate of 15 gallons per mile(!) and the dash-mounted flower vase was removed because any blossom would be immediately sucked into the jet's air intake. Now that's some serious flower power.

[Source: San Francisco Gate via GermanCarBlog]

VIDEO: Jet-powered VW New Beetle originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 May 2006 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jet-powered VW New Beetle

John Neff — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Budget

Ron Patrick wanted to prove that his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford wasn't just a piece of useless paper framed on the wall, so he put his book smarts to use by combining a GE Model T58-8F helicopter turboshaft jet engine and a VW New Beetle. Patrick claims his one-way ticket to the Darwin Awards is street legal since he left the stock drivetrain intact. We're not so sure about that since at any time he could flip a switch and torch the Tercel behind him with 1,350 flame-throwing horsepower.

I think what we're all wondering is, "Yeah, but how does she handle?"

[via Engadget via Engadget Japanese via TechBlog]

Jet-powered VW New Beetle originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Mar 2006 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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