Seems like a good time to ask this question that has been bugging me forever, since all the HN jet nerds will be drawn to this thread:<p>Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine?<p>I'd imagine that hooking up such an engine directly to the drivetrain like in a Prius would be difficult, but surely a small turbine with one hell of a muffler running a generator (similar to a natural gas power plant), both running only at their peak efficiency RPMs, would yield a very efficient car that could still use the extant gasoline infrastructure.<p>I'm sure there are very interesting reasons, either due cost, noise, reliability, or durability, that this idea hasn't taken off, and I'm very interested to hear y'all's thoughts on the subject. Or maybe there has been progress in this area, and I'd love to see some links!
> You have to give the California Department of Motor Vehicles (the DMV) credit for creativity on this one. A DMV insider has disclosed to me that the DMV has made a formal request to a federal agency to rule if my Beetle constitutes a threat to national security based on what could happen if it got into the wrong hands. This raises three questions in my mind: #1 Does this mean I’m the right hands? #2 If someone with the name "b_laden13" is the highest eBay bidder for my Beetle can I refuse his offer even if he has the prestigious eBay Red Shooting Star feedback rating (the highest)? #3 Would this affect my eBay rating?<p>Wonder if they ever found a way to give the guy a ticket.
He had it listed on Craigslist a few years ago... for $550k.
Anyone know the current status of it?<p><a href="https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-jet-powered-vw-beetle-for-christmas-and-have-some-fun-152798.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-j...</a>
This is wild, but I would strongly disagree on the aesthetic of it. In my opinion, he picked pretty much the worst possible car for this. Managed to make a jet-powered vehicle look... lame, somehow.<p>Imagine an El Camino or even an AMC Eagle with this contraption in the bed, how much cooler that would look? But really, how could you not use a Delorean as the base for this project??
Comments from 2018:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835</a>
"The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back."<p>Careful wording to give the impression that the drive shaft of the helicopter turbine would be connected to the rear wheels, without actually claiming that it is. So it's a car with a large flame thrower in the back, minor The Boring Company vibes.<p>Well possible that the author might have had more fun writing than building/driving. (I do love the incredulous tone of "#1 Does this mean I’m the right hands?")
Fun read!<p>I would rather not follow a car like that on the road, hell, even driving by it.<p>The looks don't signal the intent. Guess what will it do next when either light starts blinking, or both? There is no known signal for kicking on the jet engine! From the back it looks like a gigantic cannon too, BeachBuggyRacing kind.<p>Just for kicks, I'd also put a "Student Driver" decal on the rear window :).
Awesome project, but are there any actual videos of it running the jet engine?<p>He says the jet engine moves 11,000 CFM of air, but that air can only come through the windows and the sunroof. Pulling 183 cubic feet of air per second through those little openings while sitting in the drivers seat isn't going to work. Just try to do the math on how fast that air would have to be moving through those windows.<p>Cool show piece though.
> The Beetle was chosen because it looks cool with the jet and it shows it off well.<p>Subjective, but I would argue that the Beetle is a terrible choice and makes the jet engine look like a pole sticking out of a ball. A flat sports car would probably fit the look much better and mimic the aerodynamics of an aircraft.
nice... does anyone remember a K Car with a supercar engine? that was not quite as crazy as this one, no jet engine, but it was nice. i can't seem to find it but i remember reading about this "sleeper car".