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A gas turbine car

As a fourteen-year-old and car-mad, I was convinced that I was looking at JET 1 as it went along New Street near the Odeon. Excitement knew no bounds. The lady I was talking to as we waited for our bus, a friend of my mother's, was a bit non-plussed as I stopped talking and transferred all my attention to the scene unfolding over her right shoulder. When the car had disappeared from sight and I had calmed down, I apologised for my rudeness and explained the reason. But even then I doubt that she had the FAINTEST notion of the significance of the moment! Ladies wouldn't, would they.......

Chris
 
jukebox said:
I think there was also a JET2.
Click to expand...
Yes, Rover built a small four seat saloon car powered by a gas-turbine, and even produced a sales brochure for it, but obviously never sold any, because the problems of noise and heavy fuel consumption were never solved.
You could hear the car returning to the factory at night when it was about half a mile or more from the factory gates. Longbridge built a truck powered by one of their Longbridge made 250 hp gas turbines, but there were so many complaints from nearby residents about the noise, the truck had to be towed out to Bromsgrove way before it could be started up and road tested.
Gas turbines are only fuel efficient at maximum shaft speed, so the fuel consumption in road going vehicles, whether cars or commercial vehicles, was appalling.
PA739
 
Interesting facts

JET 1 was made at the Rover Factory at Solihull

This image is from the Science Museum Collection-

185222.jpg

Fortunately this car has survived and can be seen at the Science Museum in London
 
For many years the car was kept locked away in a small workshop at the rear of the factory towards the Land Rover sports field,
you could just make it out when looking through a crack in the door.

Most employees probably didn't realize it was there.
 
Noel Penny was instrumental in the design of the gas turbine engine used in Jet 1. He lived in Coventry and died in 2013, see attached article

www.coventrytelegraph.net

Turbine pioneer dies aged 87

A survivor of the Coventry Blitz while growing up in Canley, he went on to set up Noel Penny Turbines which employed hundreds of engineers in the city for two decades
www.coventrytelegraph.net www.coventrytelegraph.net
 
Just joined so I hope that I am getting this right.
I never saw JET1 or JET2, but I do recall another has turbine powered car. Sometime in the mid-60s I attended a Scout rally at Handsworth Park. There was a rear-engined sports car which drove though the event with a jet sound. I was one of a crowd of boys who crowded around when it parked up. The driver got out and opened up the engine compartment. Cue mass retreat as the heat was tremendous. I never saw it heard anything of this car again.
 
Dr Tom said:
Just joined so I hope that I am getting this right.
I never saw JET1 or JET2, but I do recall another has turbine powered car. Sometime in the mid-60s I attended a Scout rally at Handsworth Park. There was a rear-engined sports car which drove though the event with a jet sound. I was one of a crowd of boys who crowded around when it parked up. The driver got out and opened up the engine compartment. Cue mass retreat as the heat was tremendous. I never saw it heard anything of this car again.
Click to expand...
The ultimate (lunacy??) in jet cars....
 
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