Chrysler Turbine Car
Encyclopedia
Chrysler Turbine Cars were automobile
s powered by gas turbine
engines that the Chrysler Corporation
assembled in a small plant in Detroit, Michigan, USA
in 1963, for use in the only consumer test of gas turbine-powered cars. Of the total 55 units built (5 prototype
s and 50 "production" cars), most were scrapped at the end of a trial period, with only a handful remaining in museums and private collections. It was the high point of Chrysler's decades-long project to build a practical turbine-powered car.
The fourth-generation Chrysler turbine engine
ran at up to 44,500 revolutions per minute
, according to the owner's manual, and could operate using diesel fuel, unleaded gasoline
, kerosene
, JP-4
jet fuel
, and even vegetable oil. The engine would run on virtually anything with combustible properties and the President of Mexico tested this theory by running one of the first cars—successfully—on tequila
. Air/fuel adjustments were required to switch from one fuel type to another and the only evidence of which fuel was used was the odor of the exhaust.
The engine had just 1/5th of the moving parts of a traditional piston-based internal combustion engine (60 rather than 300). The turbine spun on a simple sleeve bearings
for vibration-free running. Its simplicity offered the potential for long life, and because no combustion contaminants enter engine oil, no oil changes were considered necessary. The 1963 Turbine's engine generated 130 bhp and an instant 425 lbft of torque at stall speed, making it good for 0-60 mph
in 12 seconds at an ambient temperature of 85 °F (29.4 °C)—it would sprint quicker if the air was cooler and denser.
The absence of a distributor and points, the solitary start-up spark plug and the lack of liquid coolant eased maintenance, while the exhaust did not contain carbon monoxide
, unburned carbon
, or raw hydrocarbon
s. Nevertheless, the turbine generated nitrogen oxide
s and the challenge of limiting them proved an ongoing problem throughout development.
The power turbine was connected, without a torque converter
, through a gear reduction unit to an otherwise ordinary TorqueFlite
automatic transmission
. The flow of the combustion gases between the gas generator and free power turbine provided the same functionality as a torque converter but without using a conventional liquid medium. Twin rotating recuperators transferred exhaust heat to the inlet air, greatly improving fuel economy. Varying stator blades prevented excessive top end speeds, and provided engine braking on deceleration.
Throttle lag and exhaust gas temperatures at idle plagued early models; Chrysler was able to remedy or mitigate these. The Turbine Car also featured a fully stainless steel exhaust system, the exits of which were flat in cross section. This was intended to spread the exhaust gases thinly and thus cool them further, in order to allow the vehicle to stand in traffic without risking damage to following traffic. The combustor, or burner, was somewhat primitive by the standards of modern turbojet engines. A single reverse-flow canister featuring a more-or-less standard spark plug for ignition was employed. Had the engine been further developed, annular combustion chambers along with a second power turbine might have improved power and economy even more. The transmission had idle instead of neutral.
The turbine car had some operational and aesthetic drawbacks. The car sounded like a giant vacuum cleaner
, which was unexpected to consumers who were more familiar with the sound of a large American V8. High altitudes also caused problems for the combined starter-generator. Additionally, failing to follow the correct start-up procedure would cause the engine to stall; some consumers thought they could "warm" the engine up similar to the way they did with a gasoline engine. They would press the accelerator pedal to the floor before the engine had reached proper temperature. Instead of warming the engine, the excess fuel slowed the turbine down and resulted in the opposite of the desired effect. Doing this, however, did not do any permanent damage to the engine. In fact, it was possible to apply full throttle immediately after starting the engine without much fear of excessive wear. The engines were remarkably durable considering how fragile turbine engines are when compared to internal combustion piston engines. Troubles were remarkably few for such a bold experiment. More than 1.1 million test miles were accumulated by the 50 cars given to the public, and operational downtime stood at only 4%.
in Italy
. Outsourcing
this step saved money for Chrysler. A total of 50 "production" Turbine Cars were built between October 1963 and October 1964, plus five prototypes (three of which differed in roof/paint schemes). As each body was finished and shipped to Detroit, Chrysler employees installed gas turbine engines, transmissions, and electrical components to prepare the cars for use by the 203 motorists - 20 of them women - who were chosen to test them.
The Turbine Car was a two-door hardtop coupe
with four individual bucket seat
s, power steering
, power brakes, and power windows. Its most prominent design features were two large horizontal taillights and nozzles (back-up lights) mounted inside a very heavy chrome
sculptured bumper. Up front, the single headlamps were mounted in chrome nacelle
s with a turbine styling theme, creating a striking appearance. This theme was carried through to the center console
and the hubcap
s. Even the tires were specially made with small turbine vanes molded into the white sidewalls
. It was finished in reddish-brown "Frostfire Metallic" paint, later renamed "Turbine Bronze" and made available on production automobiles. The roof was covered in black vinyl
, and the interior featured bronze-colored "English calfskin" leather
upholstery with plush-cut pile bronze-colored carpet.
The dashboard was lighted with electroluminescent
panels in the gauge pods and on a call-out strip across the dash. This system did not use bulbs; instead, an inverter
and transformer
raised the battery
voltage
to over 100 volts AC and passed that high voltage through special plastic
layers, causing the gauges to glow with a blue-green light.
The car itself was designed in the Chrysler studios under the direction of Elwood Engel
, who had worked for the Ford Motor Company
before his move to Chrysler. The designer credited with the actual look of the car was Charles Mashigan, who designed a two-seat show car called the Typhoon, which was displayed at the 1964 World's Fair
in New York City
. Engel used many older Ford styling themes. The rear taillight/bumper assembly was copied directly (with revisions) from a 1958 Ford styling study called the "La Galaxie". He used none of the themes associated with his 1964 Imperial
. As Engel incorporated many of the design themes in the Turbine Car, that were used in the new-for 1961 Thunderbird, many enthusiasts call this car the "Englebird."
Suspension did not follow Chrysler's ubiquitous torsion bar system, but rather featured contemporary designs using independent front suspension with a coil spring at each wheel. Rear suspension consisted of leaf springs and direct-acting shock absorbers.
After Chrysler finished the user program and other public displays of the cars, 46 of them were destroyed. The story at the time that this was done to avoid an import tariff
was incorrect. The destruction of the cars was merely keeping in line with the automobile industry's practice of not selling non-production or prototype cars to the public. This same issue arose later with the General Motors EV-1.
Of the remaining nine cars, six had the engines de-activated and then they were donated to museums around the country. Chrysler retained three operational turbine cars for historical reasons; two of the three are now owned by the "WPC Museum". All of the turbine cars owned by the "WPC Museum" are in running condition at the archives of the museum. The last turbine car that is functional, owned by the Museum of Transportation
in St. Louis, was photographed for Mopar Action magazine, and appears at car shows around the United States from time to time. One Turbine car is on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and it will be part of the exhibition Driving America, opening in early 2012.
Only two Chrysler Turbine Cars are in the hands of private collectors: One was purchased by private automobile collector Frank Kleptz of Terre Haute, Indiana
and is functional. Kleptz's Turbine Car was originally donated to the former Harrah museum in Nevada. The second one is owned by comedian and television host Jay Leno
, who purchased one of the three Chrysler Turbine Cars which had been originally retained by Chrysler.
Chrysler's turbine engine program did not die completely. A new coupe body would appear, re-engineered and rebadged, as the 1966 Dodge Charger
. Chrysler went on to develop a sixth generation gas-turbine engine which did meet nitrogen oxide
regulations, and installed it in a 1966 Dodge Coronet
, though it was never shown. A smaller, lighter seventh generation engine was produced in the early 1970s, when company received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) for further development, and a special bodied turbine Chrysler LeBaron
was built in 1977 as a prelude to a production run. By then the company was in dire financial straits and needed U.S. government loan guarantees to avoid bankruptcy. A condition of that deal was that gas-turbine mass production be abandoned because it was "too risky" thus giving roots to many conspiracy theories
.
A Chrysler Turbine Car, painted white with blue racing stripes, featured in the 1964 film The Lively Set
. The car, loaned to the producers by Chrysler, was returned to Chrysler after production, and was among those scrapped.
While Chrysler's work with turbine engines never paid off in the retail automobile sector, the experiments proved fruitful with the incorporation of a Honeywell AGT1500 into a slightly different product, the M1 Abrams
Main Battle Tank
, developed in the late 1970's by Chrysler Defense (which was later sold to General Dynamics
).
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s powered by gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
engines that the Chrysler Corporation
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
assembled in a small plant in Detroit, Michigan, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1963, for use in the only consumer test of gas turbine-powered cars. Of the total 55 units built (5 prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s and 50 "production" cars), most were scrapped at the end of a trial period, with only a handful remaining in museums and private collections. It was the high point of Chrysler's decades-long project to build a practical turbine-powered car.
Engine
Chrysler Turbine engines
Chrysler created several turbine engines that were used in road vehicles:*CR1 1954–1956: Plymouth Belvedere 4-door** ~100 hp ** No engine braking** Slow spool up...
ran at up to 44,500 revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
, according to the owner's manual, and could operate using diesel fuel, unleaded gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, JP-4
JP-4
JP-4, or JP4 was a jet fuel, specified in 1951 by the U.S. government . It was a 50-50 kerosene-gasoline blend. It has lower flash point than JP-1, but was preferred because of its greater availability. It was the primary U.S. Air Force jet fuel between 1951 and 1995. Its NATO code is F-40...
jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
, and even vegetable oil. The engine would run on virtually anything with combustible properties and the President of Mexico tested this theory by running one of the first cars—successfully—on tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
. Air/fuel adjustments were required to switch from one fuel type to another and the only evidence of which fuel was used was the odor of the exhaust.
The engine had just 1/5th of the moving parts of a traditional piston-based internal combustion engine (60 rather than 300). The turbine spun on a simple sleeve bearings
Bearing (mechanical)
A bearing is a device to allow constrained relative motion between two or more parts, typically rotation or linear movement. Bearings may be classified broadly according to the motions they allow and according to their principle of operation as well as by the directions of applied loads they can...
for vibration-free running. Its simplicity offered the potential for long life, and because no combustion contaminants enter engine oil, no oil changes were considered necessary. The 1963 Turbine's engine generated 130 bhp and an instant 425 lbft of torque at stall speed, making it good for 0-60 mph
0 to 60 mph
The time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph is a commonly used performance measure for automotive acceleration in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the rest of the world 0 to 100 km/h is used...
in 12 seconds at an ambient temperature of 85 °F (29.4 °C)—it would sprint quicker if the air was cooler and denser.
The absence of a distributor and points, the solitary start-up spark plug and the lack of liquid coolant eased maintenance, while the exhaust did not contain carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
, unburned carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
, or raw hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....
s. Nevertheless, the turbine generated nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
s and the challenge of limiting them proved an ongoing problem throughout development.
The power turbine was connected, without a torque converter
Torque converter
In modern usage, a torque converter is generally a type of hydrodynamic fluid coupling that is used to transfer rotating power from a prime mover, such as an internal combustion engine or electric motor, to a rotating driven load...
, through a gear reduction unit to an otherwise ordinary TorqueFlite
TorqueFlite
TorqueFlite is the trademarked name of Chrysler Corporation's automatic transmissions, starting with the three-speed unit introduced late in the 1956 model year as a successor to Chrysler's two-speed PowerFlite...
automatic transmission
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
. The flow of the combustion gases between the gas generator and free power turbine provided the same functionality as a torque converter but without using a conventional liquid medium. Twin rotating recuperators transferred exhaust heat to the inlet air, greatly improving fuel economy. Varying stator blades prevented excessive top end speeds, and provided engine braking on deceleration.
Throttle lag and exhaust gas temperatures at idle plagued early models; Chrysler was able to remedy or mitigate these. The Turbine Car also featured a fully stainless steel exhaust system, the exits of which were flat in cross section. This was intended to spread the exhaust gases thinly and thus cool them further, in order to allow the vehicle to stand in traffic without risking damage to following traffic. The combustor, or burner, was somewhat primitive by the standards of modern turbojet engines. A single reverse-flow canister featuring a more-or-less standard spark plug for ignition was employed. Had the engine been further developed, annular combustion chambers along with a second power turbine might have improved power and economy even more. The transmission had idle instead of neutral.
The turbine car had some operational and aesthetic drawbacks. The car sounded like a giant vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
, which was unexpected to consumers who were more familiar with the sound of a large American V8. High altitudes also caused problems for the combined starter-generator. Additionally, failing to follow the correct start-up procedure would cause the engine to stall; some consumers thought they could "warm" the engine up similar to the way they did with a gasoline engine. They would press the accelerator pedal to the floor before the engine had reached proper temperature. Instead of warming the engine, the excess fuel slowed the turbine down and resulted in the opposite of the desired effect. Doing this, however, did not do any permanent damage to the engine. In fact, it was possible to apply full throttle immediately after starting the engine without much fear of excessive wear. The engines were remarkably durable considering how fragile turbine engines are when compared to internal combustion piston engines. Troubles were remarkably few for such a bold experiment. More than 1.1 million test miles were accumulated by the 50 cars given to the public, and operational downtime stood at only 4%.
Design
The bodies and interiors were crafted by GhiaCarrozzeria Ghia
Carrozzeria Ghia SpA is one of the most famous Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firms, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio, located at 4 Corso Valentino in Turin....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
this step saved money for Chrysler. A total of 50 "production" Turbine Cars were built between October 1963 and October 1964, plus five prototypes (three of which differed in roof/paint schemes). As each body was finished and shipped to Detroit, Chrysler employees installed gas turbine engines, transmissions, and electrical components to prepare the cars for use by the 203 motorists - 20 of them women - who were chosen to test them.
The Turbine Car was a two-door hardtop coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
with four individual bucket seat
Bucket seat
A bucket seat is a seat contoured to hold one person, distinct from bench seats which are flat platforms designed to seat multiple people. Bucket seats are standard in fast cars to keep riders in place when making sharp or quick turns...
s, power steering
Power steering
Power steering helps drivers steer vehicles by augmenting steering effort of the steering wheel.Hydraulic or electric actuators add controlled energy to the steering mechanism, so the driver needs to provide only modest effort regardless of conditions. Power steering helps considerably when a...
, power brakes, and power windows. Its most prominent design features were two large horizontal taillights and nozzles (back-up lights) mounted inside a very heavy chrome
Chrome plating
Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
sculptured bumper. Up front, the single headlamps were mounted in chrome nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
s with a turbine styling theme, creating a striking appearance. This theme was carried through to the center console
Center console (automobile)
The center console in an automobile refers to the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior...
and the hubcap
Hubcap
A hubcap, wheel cover or wheel trim is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at least a central portion of the wheel. Cars with stamped steel wheels often use a full wheel cover that conceals the entire wheel. Cars with alloy wheels or styled steel wheels generally use smaller...
s. Even the tires were specially made with small turbine vanes molded into the white sidewalls
Whitewall tire
Whitewall tires or white sidewall tires are tires having a stripe or entire sidewall of white rubber.-Background:Early automobile tires were made entirely of natural white rubber. However, the white rubber did not offer sufficient traction and endurance, so carbon black was added to the rubber...
. It was finished in reddish-brown "Frostfire Metallic" paint, later renamed "Turbine Bronze" and made available on production automobiles. The roof was covered in black vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
, and the interior featured bronze-colored "English calfskin" leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
upholstery with plush-cut pile bronze-colored carpet.
The dashboard was lighted with electroluminescent
Electroluminescence
Electroluminescence is an optical phenomenon and electrical phenomenon in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field...
panels in the gauge pods and on a call-out strip across the dash. This system did not use bulbs; instead, an inverter
Inverter (electrical)
An inverter is an electrical device that converts direct current to alternating current ; the converted AC can be at any required voltage and frequency with the use of appropriate transformers, switching, and control circuits....
and transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
raised the battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
voltage
Voltage
Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...
to over 100 volts AC and passed that high voltage through special plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
layers, causing the gauges to glow with a blue-green light.
The car itself was designed in the Chrysler studios under the direction of Elwood Engel
Elwood Engel
-Early days:Engel first joined General Motors as a student under Harley Earl's watchful eye at GM's school of design. In 1939 he met classmates Joe Oros and George W. Walker at the school. During World War II, Engel served four years in the U.S. Army as a mapmaker, in both the European and Pacific...
, who had worked for the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
before his move to Chrysler. The designer credited with the actual look of the car was Charles Mashigan, who designed a two-seat show car called the Typhoon, which was displayed at the 1964 World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Engel used many older Ford styling themes. The rear taillight/bumper assembly was copied directly (with revisions) from a 1958 Ford styling study called the "La Galaxie". He used none of the themes associated with his 1964 Imperial
Imperial (automobile)
Imperial was the Chrysler Corporation's luxury automobile brand between 1955 and 1975, with a brief reappearance in 1981 to 1983.The Imperial name had been used since 1926, but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955, the company decided to spin it off as its own make...
. As Engel incorporated many of the design themes in the Turbine Car, that were used in the new-for 1961 Thunderbird, many enthusiasts call this car the "Englebird."
Suspension did not follow Chrysler's ubiquitous torsion bar system, but rather featured contemporary designs using independent front suspension with a coil spring at each wheel. Rear suspension consisted of leaf springs and direct-acting shock absorbers.
Legacy
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
was incorrect. The destruction of the cars was merely keeping in line with the automobile industry's practice of not selling non-production or prototype cars to the public. This same issue arose later with the General Motors EV-1.
Of the remaining nine cars, six had the engines de-activated and then they were donated to museums around the country. Chrysler retained three operational turbine cars for historical reasons; two of the three are now owned by the "WPC Museum". All of the turbine cars owned by the "WPC Museum" are in running condition at the archives of the museum. The last turbine car that is functional, owned by the Museum of Transportation
Museum of Transportation
The Museum of Transportation of the St. Louis County, Missouri, United States Parks Department is a museum located in the Greater St. Louis area. It was first founded in 1944 by a group of individuals dedicated to preserving the past and has a wide variety of vehicles from American history...
in St. Louis, was photographed for Mopar Action magazine, and appears at car shows around the United States from time to time. One Turbine car is on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and it will be part of the exhibition Driving America, opening in early 2012.
Only two Chrysler Turbine Cars are in the hands of private collectors: One was purchased by private automobile collector Frank Kleptz of Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
and is functional. Kleptz's Turbine Car was originally donated to the former Harrah museum in Nevada. The second one is owned by comedian and television host Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, who purchased one of the three Chrysler Turbine Cars which had been originally retained by Chrysler.
Chrysler's turbine engine program did not die completely. A new coupe body would appear, re-engineered and rebadged, as the 1966 Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
. Chrysler went on to develop a sixth generation gas-turbine engine which did meet nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide
Nitrogen oxide can refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds:* Nitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, , nitrogen oxide* Nitrogen dioxide , nitrogen oxide...
regulations, and installed it in a 1966 Dodge Coronet
Dodge Coronet
The Coronet was a full-size car from Dodge in the 1950s, initially the division's highest trim line but, starting in 1955, the lowest trim line. In the 1960s, the name was transferred to Dodge's mid-size entry.-1949:...
, though it was never shown. A smaller, lighter seventh generation engine was produced in the early 1970s, when company received a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) for further development, and a special bodied turbine Chrysler LeBaron
Chrysler LeBaron
The Chrysler LeBaron was originally a classic luxury car of 1930s manufactured by Chrysler which competed with other luxury cars of the era such as Lincoln and Packard....
was built in 1977 as a prelude to a production run. By then the company was in dire financial straits and needed U.S. government loan guarantees to avoid bankruptcy. A condition of that deal was that gas-turbine mass production be abandoned because it was "too risky" thus giving roots to many conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
.
A Chrysler Turbine Car, painted white with blue racing stripes, featured in the 1964 film The Lively Set
The Lively Set
The Lively Set is a 1964 film directed by Jack Arnold. It stars James Darren, Pamela Tiffin and Doug McClure.-Plot:Young mechanic Casey Owens designs a turbine engine that could lead to an automotive land-speed record...
. The car, loaned to the producers by Chrysler, was returned to Chrysler after production, and was among those scrapped.
While Chrysler's work with turbine engines never paid off in the retail automobile sector, the experiments proved fruitful with the incorporation of a Honeywell AGT1500 into a slightly different product, the M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
Main Battle Tank
Main battle tank
A main battle tank , also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the heavy direct fire role of many modern armies. They were originally conceived to replace the light, medium, heavy and super-heavy tanks. Development was spurred onwards in the Cold War with the development...
, developed in the late 1970's by Chrysler Defense (which was later sold to General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
).