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

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.