24 ms·

Ron Patrick's Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle (2006)

271 points by 1317 3y ago

ynoxinul 3y ago
Apparently the post is from 2006. I wonder if this contraption is still street-legal.
- gpderetta 3y ago
  what I really want to know if he ever finished his scooter!
- K0balt 3y ago
  It would be legal to run it on the factory engine, at which point the jet is just cargo. If you start the jet on a public road, it could be considered a public nuisance, reckless driving, etc. If a the vehicle presents a clear and present danger of any kind it is a-priory a ticketable offence at least. With the jet off, it poses no such danger.
  - psychlops 3y ago
    I'm certain an officer could find all sorts of reasons to ticket that vehicle if inspired.
  - moate 3y ago
    You can own a car, you can own a flamethrower, you can't fire your flamethrower out of your car while driving on public roads.
  - aidenn0 3y ago
    And for California, don't forget "Exhibition of speed" which is a rather nasty ticket to end up with.
brk 3y ago
This is a hacker classic. Would be curious to know what eventually became of it.
omginternets 3y ago
How on earth is it street legal to emit a high-pressure plume of jet exhaust behind you?
- nikanj 3y ago
  ’Murica
- dzdt 3y ago
  Its street legal to drive using the standard motor with the jet engine OFF.
  - omginternets 3y ago
    Oooh, it's a hybrid!
    - dylan604 3y ago
      "Hmmm, the car has two engines making the car a hybrid so maybe we can drive in the commuter lanes along with the Toyota Priuses. "
      - omginternets 3y ago
        Imagine being the cop who has to argue over the ticket with that guy ^^
        ceejayoz 3y ago
        "I'm... gonna park a little further back."
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        dylan604 3y ago
        There's a paragraph and photo of this very thing in the TFA
ralfd 3y ago
Comments from 2018: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835
xrd 3y ago
This should be retitled "Now I'm going to finish adding jet engines to my wife's scooter."
- mindslight 3y ago
  The scooter seems like it could be a poor idea due to asymmetric thrust, and I have to wonder if he just mocked it up in jest. It does look pretty awesome though.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - whatshisface 3y ago
    You could adjust the two throttles to trim it, preferably not while in motion.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
smohnot 3y ago
He had it listed on Craigslist a few years ago... for $550k. Anyone know the current status of it? https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-jet-powered-vw-beetle-for-christmas-and-have-some-fun-152798.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-j...
- stergios 3y ago
  It's still sitting in his shop. RP is not going to sell it.
  - KennyBlanken 3y ago
    I think it's more that like most modded / custom car owners, he thinks that it's reasonable to set an asking price according to the following formula: (Cost of car) + (Cost of Mods) + (My time x some magical hourly rate) = reasonable asking price The more sane of them add in a multiplier, like say .5 to .8. Or leave out their time. Reality is: What 1 person among the people who hear about the sale will pay = reasonable asking price
    - jamiek88 3y ago
      Yeah things like that are always the same. It’s the sellers dream, rarely anyone else has the exact same dream. If they have a similar dream all they see is the differences and what they’d do differently.
latchkey 3y ago
Discussions on similar submissions: Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28349589 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28349589 (August 29, 2021 — 2 points, 1 comments) Ron Patrick's Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle (2006) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 (March 4, 2018 — 156 points, 60 comments) Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5384390 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5384390 (March 15, 2013 — 6 points, 2 comments) Street Legal Jet Powered Beetle (2006) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=831185 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=831185 (September 18, 2009 — 76 points, 23 comments)
- dang 3y ago
  Thanks! Here's a great subthread from one of those: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16524533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16524533 (I just added it to https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights)
  - latchkey 3y ago
    @dang I wonder why we don't just generate these things at the bottom of every article? My extension does it already, but I feel like it would help a lot as a core feature.
    - dang 3y ago
      The lists that I post, and that most users post, are reviewed to include only the interesting threads. This makes them more valuable to readers, since the odds of going on a click trip to something boring are much lower. Rather than autogenerating them, I think what we'll do is add software support for the community to collaborate on the 'related 'list for a post. And it needn't just link to related HN threads - it can be related URLs on the same story, for example. When we'll actually get to this is another question of course...
      - latchkey 3y ago
generalizations 3y ago
> 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? Wonder if they ever found a way to give the guy a ticket.
Aurornis 3y ago
Awesome project, but are there any actual videos of it running the jet engine? 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. Cool show piece though.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  Yes, there's video online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqxWhKe_tA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqxWhKe_tA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdkXwFQ3c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdkXwFQ3c (Noise warning, for obvious reasons.)
  - avg_dev 3y ago
    I see > I don't know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn't stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though. but I am unsure if that means he has never driven it using the jet engine, or whether the engine even will power the car or just kinda runs on its own. I'm curious to see it go at all under jet engine power. Edit: maybe this is it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ipYAl3o40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ipYAl3o40
    - dmurray 3y ago
      I think he means he's used it plenty, but hasn't tried to max out the speed.
      - ceejayoz 3y ago
        That's my reading as well. I have a vague memory of this site or an interview previously saying he got up to 130 mph once, before deciding he'd rather not find out what speed a VW Beetle lifts off the pavement.
    - 3y ago
avg_dev 3y ago
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".
- brucethemoose2 3y ago
  Crazy engine swaps are not uncommon. There are some Fiat 500s and such with v8 double motorcycle engines, wankels or even v12s and racecar v6s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52W20Z38Bw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52W20Z38Bw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6SZuionhqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6SZuionhqQ A turbine is relatively exotic, if only because they are even more impractical.
  - whynotmaybe 3y ago
    Even a snowblower with a HEMI... https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/06/22/that-thing-got-a-hemi https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/06/22/that-thing-got-a-hem...
  - aidenn0 3y ago
    IIRC someone put a turbocharged 7L smallblock V8 in the back of a Lotus Exige, though they had to lengthen the chassis to make it fit.
    - brucethemoose2 3y ago
      That is probably the Henessy Venom GT. My favorite is the Ariel Atom V8, which swapped the Honda Civic engine for a hilarious 483hp 3L NA V8. In a 1300lb car.
      - aidenn0 3y ago
        The Venom GT was indeed what I was thinking of. 1451hp in a 2800lb car.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
hrichards 3y ago
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: Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine? 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. 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!
- thebutcher 3y ago
  I think someone is making this, or maybe I misunderstood your question. The Ariel Hipercar uses a jet engine to power it’s 4 electric engines. I think it’s just used as a range extender, and last I saw they didn’t have it working yet. It’s been a while since I checked up on the car. EDIT: I just read this article from 2023 that says the turbine engine still isn’t working: https://www.evo.co.uk/ariel/206120/ariel-hipercar-prototype-2023-review https://www.evo.co.uk/ariel/206120/ariel-hipercar-prototype-...
- xattt 3y ago
  I don’t have the source at hand, but a gas turbine is ridiculously inefficient for variable loads. At idle, fuel consumption can be ~35% of what it is at full power. It would only need to charge for short time, and subsequently shut off. When a charge top-up is required, startup would be another rigamarole. Now, rotary engines, that’s a different story…
  - playworker 3y ago
    https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30-r-ev/ https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30-r-ev/
grecy 3y ago
I'm a little shocked there's no 1/4 mile time. Surely when you strap a jet engine to a Beetle you need to find out how fast it goes!
- dotancohen 3y ago
  Quick, not fast. Low 1/4 times are mostly associated with acceleration, not speed.
Miserlou57 3y ago
My buddy (a car guy) from Mountain View told me he could hear this thing on 280 late at night every now and then. Anyone else?
usrusr 3y ago
"The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back." 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. 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?")
- alright2565 3y ago
  I don't think so. In another part he mentions > This is a helicopter turboshaft engine that was converted to a jet engine I can't see a way to get rotary power out of this engine after the modifications.
  - usrusr 3y ago
    Any turboshaft engine is a jet engine if you don't connect anything to the shaft and point the exhaust in the right direction. Just not a very good one, at zero bypass. If you think there is anything done in this project to increase performance you are missing the point of the joke: woah, jet engine! Woah, rated 1350 horse power! Heh, retro novelty compact with a truly glorious amount of hot air. Will the turbine exhaust noticeable push the car? Sure. Even a piston engine exhaust does, e.g. some versions of the Merlin engine claim extra 70 HP from exhaust thrust. Is the author having great fun (and readers who get it) by brandishing the rated rotary power of the turbine over and over again, while carefully avoiding any mention of actual performance of the car? Absolutely. But it's not mean deception, it's friendly trolling. Which is basically the essence of the entire hot rod idea. I dislike the waste (of a good car, and the occasional kerosene burn, the turbine was probably beyond airworthyness certification and thus scrap anyway), but I find his "friendly trolling" charming in a surprisingly deep way.
- ben7799 3y ago
  For a stunt car like this there's not a huge need or desire to have it powering the wheels at all. The direct air thrust will push the car just fine, doesn't need a transmission, has zero issues with wheel spin or traction, and so then doesn't require re-engineering the wheels/tires and then the suspension and/or chassis to handle 1350hp.
rmason 3y ago
How did Jay Leno not get this car on his TV show when he had it? He still is posting episodes to YouTube so it is still possible.
- mywacaday 3y ago
  Jay has his own jet bike, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhoYXw2IPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhoYXw2IPc
literarylover 3y ago
[dead]
historyTeach123 3y ago
[flagged]
JoblessWonder 3y ago
Can someone ELI20 how one would convert a turboshaft engine to a turbojet engine?
- mr_toad 3y ago
  Basically you just remove the shaft.
  - aidenn0 3y ago
    And put a nozzle on the exhaust.
  - JoblessWonder 3y ago
    Ah, that makes sense. Thank you!
joshu 3y ago
i know ron!
- dazhbog 3y ago
  Tell him to make a YouTube channel or update us on that scooter ;)
ed_mercer 3y ago
> The Beetle was chosen because it looks cool with the jet and it shows it off well. 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.
visarga 3y ago
[flagged]
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
zoomablemind 3y ago
Fun read! I would rather not follow a car like that on the road, hell, even driving by it. 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. Just for kicks, I'd also put a "Student Driver" decal on the rear window :).
btbuildem 3y ago
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. 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??
- Feuilles_Mortes 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_(style)?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_(style)?wprov=sfti1
  - btbuildem 3y ago
    > The car was built because I wanted the wildest street-legal ride possible > The Beetle was chosen because it looks cool with the jet It really does sound to me like this person was genuinely going for "cool" and "wild", not "campy"

271 points by 1317 3y ago

ynoxinul 3y ago

Apparently the post is from 2006. I wonder if this contraption is still street-legal.

gpderetta 3y ago
what I really want to know if he ever finished his scooter!
K0balt 3y ago
It would be legal to run it on the factory engine, at which point the jet is just cargo. If you start the jet on a public road, it could be considered a public nuisance, reckless driving, etc. If a the vehicle presents a clear and present danger of any kind it is a-priory a ticketable offence at least. With the jet off, it poses no such danger.
- psychlops 3y ago
  I'm certain an officer could find all sorts of reasons to ticket that vehicle if inspired.
- moate 3y ago
  You can own a car, you can own a flamethrower, you can't fire your flamethrower out of your car while driving on public roads.
- aidenn0 3y ago
  And for California, don't forget "Exhibition of speed" which is a rather nasty ticket to end up with.

brk 3y ago

This is a hacker classic. Would be curious to know what eventually became of it.

omginternets 3y ago

How on earth is it street legal to emit a high-pressure plume of jet exhaust behind you?

nikanj 3y ago
’Murica
dzdt 3y ago
Its street legal to drive using the standard motor with the jet engine OFF.
- omginternets 3y ago
  Oooh, it's a hybrid!
  - dylan604 3y ago
    "Hmmm, the car has two engines making the car a hybrid so maybe we can drive in the commuter lanes along with the Toyota Priuses. "
    - omginternets 3y ago
      Imagine being the cop who has to argue over the ticket with that guy ^^
      - ceejayoz 3y ago
        "I'm... gonna park a little further back."
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - dylan604 3y ago
        There's a paragraph and photo of this very thing in the TFA

ralfd 3y ago

Comments from 2018: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835

xrd 3y ago

This should be retitled "Now I'm going to finish adding jet engines to my wife's scooter."

mindslight 3y ago
The scooter seems like it could be a poor idea due to asymmetric thrust, and I have to wonder if he just mocked it up in jest. It does look pretty awesome though.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- whatshisface 3y ago
  You could adjust the two throttles to trim it, preferably not while in motion.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

smohnot 3y ago

He had it listed on Craigslist a few years ago... for $550k. Anyone know the current status of it? https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-jet-powered-vw-beetle-for-christmas-and-have-some-fun-152798.html https://www.autoevolution.com/news/get-yourself-the-iconic-j...

stergios 3y ago
It's still sitting in his shop. RP is not going to sell it.
- KennyBlanken 3y ago
  I think it's more that like most modded / custom car owners, he thinks that it's reasonable to set an asking price according to the following formula: (Cost of car) + (Cost of Mods) + (My time x some magical hourly rate) = reasonable asking price The more sane of them add in a multiplier, like say .5 to .8. Or leave out their time. Reality is: What 1 person among the people who hear about the sale will pay = reasonable asking price
  - jamiek88 3y ago
    Yeah things like that are always the same. It’s the sellers dream, rarely anyone else has the exact same dream. If they have a similar dream all they see is the differences and what they’d do differently.

latchkey 3y ago

Discussions on similar submissions: Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28349589 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28349589 (August 29, 2021 — 2 points, 1 comments) Ron Patrick's Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle (2006) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16513835 (March 4, 2018 — 156 points, 60 comments) Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5384390 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5384390 (March 15, 2013 — 6 points, 2 comments) Street Legal Jet Powered Beetle (2006) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=831185 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=831185 (September 18, 2009 — 76 points, 23 comments)

dang 3y ago
Thanks! Here's a great subthread from one of those: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16524533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16524533 (I just added it to https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights https://news.ycombinator.com/highlights)
- latchkey 3y ago
  @dang I wonder why we don't just generate these things at the bottom of every article? My extension does it already, but I feel like it would help a lot as a core feature.
  - dang 3y ago
    The lists that I post, and that most users post, are reviewed to include only the interesting threads. This makes them more valuable to readers, since the odds of going on a click trip to something boring are much lower. Rather than autogenerating them, I think what we'll do is add software support for the community to collaborate on the 'related 'list for a post. And it needn't just link to related HN threads - it can be related URLs on the same story, for example. When we'll actually get to this is another question of course...
    - latchkey 3y ago

generalizations 3y ago

> 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? Wonder if they ever found a way to give the guy a ticket.

Aurornis 3y ago

Awesome project, but are there any actual videos of it running the jet engine? 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. Cool show piece though.

ceejayoz 3y ago
Yes, there's video online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqxWhKe_tA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCqxWhKe_tA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdkXwFQ3c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNdkXwFQ3c (Noise warning, for obvious reasons.)
- avg_dev 3y ago
  I see > I don't know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn't stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though. but I am unsure if that means he has never driven it using the jet engine, or whether the engine even will power the car or just kinda runs on its own. I'm curious to see it go at all under jet engine power. Edit: maybe this is it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ipYAl3o40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-ipYAl3o40
  - dmurray 3y ago
    I think he means he's used it plenty, but hasn't tried to max out the speed.
    - ceejayoz 3y ago
      That's my reading as well. I have a vague memory of this site or an interview previously saying he got up to 130 mph once, before deciding he'd rather not find out what speed a VW Beetle lifts off the pavement.
  - 3y ago

avg_dev 3y ago

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".

brucethemoose2 3y ago
Crazy engine swaps are not uncommon. There are some Fiat 500s and such with v8 double motorcycle engines, wankels or even v12s and racecar v6s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52W20Z38Bw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52W20Z38Bw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6SZuionhqQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6SZuionhqQ A turbine is relatively exotic, if only because they are even more impractical.
- whynotmaybe 3y ago
  Even a snowblower with a HEMI... https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/06/22/that-thing-got-a-hemi https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/06/22/that-thing-got-a-hem...
- aidenn0 3y ago
  IIRC someone put a turbocharged 7L smallblock V8 in the back of a Lotus Exige, though they had to lengthen the chassis to make it fit.
  - brucethemoose2 3y ago
    That is probably the Henessy Venom GT. My favorite is the Ariel Atom V8, which swapped the Honda Civic engine for a hilarious 483hp 3L NA V8. In a 1300lb car.
    - aidenn0 3y ago
      The Venom GT was indeed what I was thinking of. 1451hp in a 2800lb car.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

hrichards 3y ago

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: Why hasn't anyone made a hybrid car that uses a gasoline-powered turbine generator to charge its batteries instead of a piston engine? 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. 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!

thebutcher 3y ago
I think someone is making this, or maybe I misunderstood your question. The Ariel Hipercar uses a jet engine to power it’s 4 electric engines. I think it’s just used as a range extender, and last I saw they didn’t have it working yet. It’s been a while since I checked up on the car. EDIT: I just read this article from 2023 that says the turbine engine still isn’t working: https://www.evo.co.uk/ariel/206120/ariel-hipercar-prototype-2023-review https://www.evo.co.uk/ariel/206120/ariel-hipercar-prototype-...
xattt 3y ago
I don’t have the source at hand, but a gas turbine is ridiculously inefficient for variable loads. At idle, fuel consumption can be ~35% of what it is at full power. It would only need to charge for short time, and subsequently shut off. When a charge top-up is required, startup would be another rigamarole. Now, rotary engines, that’s a different story…
- playworker 3y ago
  https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30-r-ev/ https://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-mx-30-r-ev/

grecy 3y ago

I'm a little shocked there's no 1/4 mile time. Surely when you strap a jet engine to a Beetle you need to find out how fast it goes!

dotancohen 3y ago
Quick, not fast. Low 1/4 times are mostly associated with acceleration, not speed.

Miserlou57 3y ago

My buddy (a car guy) from Mountain View told me he could hear this thing on 280 late at night every now and then. Anyone else?

usrusr 3y ago

"The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back." 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. 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?")

alright2565 3y ago
I don't think so. In another part he mentions > This is a helicopter turboshaft engine that was converted to a jet engine I can't see a way to get rotary power out of this engine after the modifications.
- usrusr 3y ago
  Any turboshaft engine is a jet engine if you don't connect anything to the shaft and point the exhaust in the right direction. Just not a very good one, at zero bypass. If you think there is anything done in this project to increase performance you are missing the point of the joke: woah, jet engine! Woah, rated 1350 horse power! Heh, retro novelty compact with a truly glorious amount of hot air. Will the turbine exhaust noticeable push the car? Sure. Even a piston engine exhaust does, e.g. some versions of the Merlin engine claim extra 70 HP from exhaust thrust. Is the author having great fun (and readers who get it) by brandishing the rated rotary power of the turbine over and over again, while carefully avoiding any mention of actual performance of the car? Absolutely. But it's not mean deception, it's friendly trolling. Which is basically the essence of the entire hot rod idea. I dislike the waste (of a good car, and the occasional kerosene burn, the turbine was probably beyond airworthyness certification and thus scrap anyway), but I find his "friendly trolling" charming in a surprisingly deep way.
ben7799 3y ago
For a stunt car like this there's not a huge need or desire to have it powering the wheels at all. The direct air thrust will push the car just fine, doesn't need a transmission, has zero issues with wheel spin or traction, and so then doesn't require re-engineering the wheels/tires and then the suspension and/or chassis to handle 1350hp.

rmason 3y ago

How did Jay Leno not get this car on his TV show when he had it? He still is posting episodes to YouTube so it is still possible.

mywacaday 3y ago
Jay has his own jet bike, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhoYXw2IPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhoYXw2IPc

literarylover 3y ago

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historyTeach123 3y ago

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JoblessWonder 3y ago

Can someone ELI20 how one would convert a turboshaft engine to a turbojet engine?

mr_toad 3y ago
Basically you just remove the shaft.
- aidenn0 3y ago
  And put a nozzle on the exhaust.
- JoblessWonder 3y ago
  Ah, that makes sense. Thank you!

joshu 3y ago

i know ron!

dazhbog 3y ago
Tell him to make a YouTube channel or update us on that scooter ;)

ed_mercer 3y ago

> The Beetle was chosen because it looks cool with the jet and it shows it off well. 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.

visarga 3y ago

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deleted 3y ago

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zoomablemind 3y ago

Fun read! I would rather not follow a car like that on the road, hell, even driving by it. 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. Just for kicks, I'd also put a "Student Driver" decal on the rear window :).

btbuildem 3y ago

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. 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??

Feuilles_Mortes 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_(style)?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_(style)?wprov=sfti1
- btbuildem 3y ago
  > The car was built because I wanted the wildest street-legal ride possible > The Beetle was chosen because it looks cool with the jet It really does sound to me like this person was genuinely going for "cool" and "wild", not "campy"