15 replies to this topic

[mariner]

I hadn't seen this video untiil I was on the Classic team Lotus website. Its three of the 1968 Lotus Indy turbine cars running again at Indy.

 

http://www.classicte...-car-1968-2014/

 

The sheer enginering audacity of those cars still impresses me today . I was lucky enough to see the F1 version whoosh round Brands hatch. My abiding memory is  how cleary you could hear the tyre squeal!

 

BTW somebody from CTL told me they were sure the STP orange they sprayed the rebuild in was all wrong.Then they pushed the car into sunshine and hey presto

[Magoo]

Good find, thanks for sharing. 

[gruntguru]

Interesting that 2014 is also the year that F1 (virtually) mandated the use of energy from a turbine to help propel the car.

[Lee Nicolle]

I hadn't seen this video untiil I was on the Classic team Lotus website. Its three of the 1968 Lotus Indy turbine cars running again at Indy.

 

http://www.classicte...-car-1968-2014/

 

The sheer enginering audacity of those cars still impresses me today . I was lucky enough to see the F1 version whoosh round Brands hatch. My abiding memory is  how cleary you could hear the tyre squeal!

 

BTW somebody from CTL told me they were sure the STP orange they sprayed the rebuild in was all wrong.Then they pushed the car into sunshine and hey presto

Give em 3 or 4 proper laps!

[Joe Bosworth]

I was there at Indi for qualifying and race in 1968.

 

Two points need to be made correcting the attached video.

 

The STP turbines were rather quiet by comparison to their competitors.  In fact  they were commonly referred at the time as "whooshmobiles" as that was close to he sound they made as they went by a speed.

 

The vidieo refers to them as jet turbines.  Comleyely in error.  They were definetly turbines with a power take off from the turbines to the wheels.  A jet provides energy to he surrounding air without power going through the wheels.

 

It is somewhat sad to see such werrors pop up now and if not corrected will likely become fact in some peoles minds because they saw it on The Technical Forum.

 

regards

[imaginesix]

The whole video sounded like a Franklin Mint commercial, I kept expecting the guy to launch into "and now you can own a piece of legendary motorsports history for four easy payments of just $19.99..."

[Terry Walker]

One thing that struck me was that the jet thrust came straight upwards, which must have imparted quite an amount of downforce to the chassis. I suppose a specification sheet for the turbine engines used would provide the information on the thrust. Who needs wings and foils?

 

 

[chunder27]

Sadly when it comes to promotion, most people involved seem to think they need to sell and over state things that happen in history, as if they are trying to sell something to a dumb public.

 

This is historic and I imagine would be being sold to Discovery shows, or Nat Geo, that is what the voiceover reminds me of.

 

And remember they have things caled Swamp Loggers and the like, so you have to dumb things down a bit!

Edited by chunder27, 18 April 2015 - 08:46.

[Lotus53B]

I saw the F1 version run at Silverstone a couple of times, watching that shows that my 44 year old memory of the sound was affected by the volume of the F1 (and F5000 engines for BRDC championship race) - I just remember them as being nearly silent in comparison.  Lovely machines.  I wish such freedom to innovate was still allowed, but I think that the resultant machines would achieve near orbital veloctiy, and consume a budget NASA would envy.

[chunder27]

You cna see turbones competing now, quite often theya re used in tractor pulling.

 

Albeit a rather different sort of idea, basically they use helicopter engines (1 2 3 or 4 in one tractor believe it or not) and because they have an output shaft, they are linked to a drive assembly via linkages and drive chains and/or transfer boxes to the rear wheels!  They make an awesome sight.

 

I think aswell that the wheel driven LSR is held by a turbine powered car, Don Vesco and his team used one to go 460mph+ on driven wheels, and Donald Campbell used one in Bluebird I think.

 

I did see that weird GT car at Silverstone a few years ago in CER, was an amazing sight!

[gruntguru]

The jet thrust from a gas turbine (end even piston engines) can be a significant factor at high airspeeds. I wonder what the LSR rulebook says about jet effect on wheel driven LSR cars?

[chunder27]

I think Donald Campbells car used a partial thrust element.

 

HIs record was whel driven and broke Cobbs record for wheel driven cars I think, but I am sure only 40% of the drive went to the wheels, so it was a bit of a mismatch.

 

Vescos Turbinator I think was totally wheel driven so qualifies bang on the money.  Difficult for anything normal engined to go much faster, although the diesel JCB thing was getting up there before they encountered massive issues.

 

I think electric might be the way or hybrid, I just wish Tajima would go for it instead of messing about on Pikes Peak!

[gruntguru]

Not much jet effect from an electric car that's for sure.

[bigleagueslider]

Granatelli ran a 4WD turboshaft roadster in the 1967 500 race. It used a torque conveter and a single speed transmission. It was also very heavy, weighing around 400 lbs above the min. weight limit. But the car was fast.

 

[Greg Locock]

 

i was briefly driven in the sedan successor to this one. What a lot of dials!

Edited by Greg Locock, 22 April 2015 - 08:37.

[gruntguru]

The rings are worn out in that one.