The Failure of Chrysler's Multi-Million Turbine Car Project

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  • Опубліковано 6 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 119

  • @Onewheelordeal
    @Onewheelordeal Рік тому +18

    My grandfather was a turbine engineer for Chrysler. Must be a bummer when your lifes work to never comes to fruition, tho he bailed on my grandma when my dad was born so...

  • @artysanmobile
    @artysanmobile Рік тому +3

    My father took me to Yardley Chrysler in Fort Lauderdale in 1964 to see and hear this amazing experimental car. Even at that young age I understood it was not going to show up on the road and today design engineering is a large part of my work.

  • @BoostWorx
    @BoostWorx Рік тому +3

    I don't know how you do it! Every single time I watch your video I'm glued to the screen brilliant video again pal.

    • @VisioRacer
      @VisioRacer  Рік тому +2

      That's pleasing to hear, thanks!

  • @krzysztofwaleska
    @krzysztofwaleska Рік тому +6

    Brilliant design. Well thought. So sorry that it never entered mass production. So many fuels... Imagine what this engine could have been after 10 or 30 years for improvements...

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +1

      Development continued into the 1980s and went absolutely no where, it was never a viable concept

    • @krzysztofwaleska
      @krzysztofwaleska Рік тому +1

      Perhaps then. Perhaps not now. Today steam engine would better fill requirements of euro 6 than piston one. No need for complicated accesories, high temperature fills it all. Egr, cataliser, silencer, NOx emissions etc, etc, etc...

    • @krzysztofwaleska
      @krzysztofwaleska Рік тому +1

      Perhaps then. Perhaps not now. Today steam engine would better fill requirements of euro 6 than piston one. No need for complicated accesories, high temperature fills it all. Egr, cataliser, silencer, NOx emissions etc, etc, etc...

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      @@krzysztofwaleska Your joking right?

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      @@krzysztofwaleska Euro 6 sets very strict limits on NOx emissions.
      No legitimate manufacturers would even consider steam cars today just based on the cost, of course fuel efficiency would make them unsalable

  • @Nafeels
    @Nafeels Рік тому +35

    Too bad turbines in automotive engineering didn’t stay long. Today a small multi-fuel turbine could be used as range extenders just like the incredible Ariel Hipercar, and with the current technologies in modern turbofans such as combined cycle and 3D-printed compressor could further reduce EGT, improve fuel economy and longevity.

    • @Damien.D
      @Damien.D Рік тому +2

      Volvo did an hybrid with a (volvo aero sourced) gas turbine range extender, it was fully working concept that introduced the styling of the S80.
      It was in the 90's.

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому +4

      Oh it stayed. It's in airplanes all over the world, from giant 747 to the single-prop turbine powered aircraft. Also very reliable, hooked up to Garmin units, monitored by microprocessors, and all the rest. But if it's got 4 wheels on it? Nope, won't pass emissions. Regulate regulate regulate. If you have wings, you can pollute all day long. If you are stuck on the ground, nope, no polluting allowed.

    • @bobhill3941
      @bobhill3941 Рік тому +2

      ​@@exothermal.sprocketExactly, it's because airplanes are still allowed leaded fuel for reliability. Mazda is supposedly bringing back the Wankel rotary as a range extender.
      I loved this video, I learned for than I ever wanted to know about the Turbine cars.

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому +1

      @@bobhill3941 You know what else airplanes have in that JP8 fuel? Leaving lines across the skies every single day?

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      Not a viable concept.

  • @bobcoats2708
    @bobcoats2708 Рік тому +38

    I don’t know that you could rightly call it a failure. They tried hard to make it viable and it just wasn’t. I think you could call it a failure if it made it to production and flopped.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +5

      Most manufacturers developed gas turbine engines, Chrysler was the only one foolish enough to build a fleet of test vehicles.

    • @frederickmfarias3109
      @frederickmfarias3109 Рік тому

      @@WilhelmKarstenBulshxt!
      It was a success! Chrysler did not have infrastructure to manufacture and market it.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +1

      @@frederickmfarias3109 Not true, it was a failure.
      The estimated mass production cost of the engines was over $55,000 in 1965, more than 16 new V-8 cars or a new luxury home.

    • @frederickmfarias3109
      @frederickmfarias3109 Рік тому

      @@WilhelmKarsten Still not a failure, costs can be reduced by materials research which Chrysler was doing, and by economy of scale.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      @@frederickmfarias3109 Sorry, but that was the cost adjusted for economy of scale and automation of manufacturing process.
      Gas turbine engines are extremely expensive to manufacture and a similar 130 horsepower non-flight rated engine would cost around a half million dollars each in today's value.
      Much too expensive for mass produced automobiles.

  • @Grimm-Gaming
    @Grimm-Gaming Рік тому +15

    Thinking of Jay Leno. He probably owns half the cars youve ever reviewed on here. Haha

    • @Minnevan
      @Minnevan Рік тому +1

      Multiple versions of each one lol

    • @Grimm-Gaming
      @Grimm-Gaming Рік тому +3

      @@Minnevan maybe. I dont think he has many of those. Eastern block cars.

    • @Minnevan
      @Minnevan Рік тому

      @@Grimm-Gaming fair point

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому

      Someone's gotta preserve history. Haha

  • @PaulG.x
    @PaulG.x Рік тому +13

    You missed mentioning the original prototype turbine car: the Rover JET1 (1949/1950)

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      *BMW* was the first to build gas turbine vehicles in 1944.

  • @Damien.D
    @Damien.D Рік тому +2

    The car was made in italy, shipped in the US to receive the drivetrain.
    Can remember who was the coachwork, Pininfarina? Bertone? It's a very famous name. And the car is beautifull. So sad so many were destroyed.... Very painful to see...
    The efficiency they have achieved with these turbines are pretty amazing, even as of today.
    Chrysler did mass produce gas powered vehicle in the end : the M1 Abrams. But they didn't make the engine.

    • @jimurrata6785
      @jimurrata6785 Рік тому

      Elwood Engel styles the car.
      Coachwork was by Ghia

  • @davidjernigan8161
    @davidjernigan8161 Рік тому +5

    The other killer was the high oxides of nitrogen emissions from the gas turbine that could not be easily reduced.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +1

      Yes, excellent point.
      Although the emissions regulations did not exist yet, NOx pollution was a factor in the cancelation, the Chrysler program was ultimately canceled because of the astronomical production costs of these difficult to manufacture engines

  • @FilterYT
    @FilterYT Рік тому

    You're the best VisoRacer! Thanks.

  • @epicseadragon1692
    @epicseadragon1692 Рік тому

    Very nice video as always, thank you!
    It is clear that turbines are unsuited for cars, but I've been wondering if *maybe* one could consider using a turbine as a power generator/range extender for e.g. an electric/hybrid truck (either semi, or else). That would retain many of the advantages of the turbine wrt piston engines, while alleviating many disadvantages like throttle response, etc. Just an idea :D

  • @audriusbaranauskas6227
    @audriusbaranauskas6227 Рік тому +1

    Car jet engines chillin' with rotary engines thinking "where did it all go wrong?"

  • @benbrown2119
    @benbrown2119 Рік тому

    Another chapter of the land-going gas turbine powered vehicles that deserves a video is gas-turbine locomotives.

  • @PaulG.x
    @PaulG.x Рік тому +3

    Neighbour looks over the fence: "Dude you left the engine running."
    Turbocar owner pops his head up: "Nah ,I'm vacuuming the floor mats."

  • @upsidedowndog1256
    @upsidedowndog1256 Рік тому +3

    Ah yes. The Y2K motorcycle! Made in New Iberia, Louisiana. It has a helicopter turbine in it. They also made boats with that engine.

    • @jameschristiansson3137
      @jameschristiansson3137 Рік тому +2

      Jay Leno said he made the plastic front bumper of someone's car pucker when they got too close to him on his Y2K at a stop in traffic.

    • @upsidedowndog1256
      @upsidedowndog1256 Рік тому +1

      @@jameschristiansson3137
      I would consider that a great feature of the design!

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому +1

      Motorsport Turbine Technologies, LLC.
      MTT 420-RR has all kinds of claims. Would be nice to see some of those claims actually demonstrated.

    • @upsidedowndog1256
      @upsidedowndog1256 Рік тому

      @@exothermal.sprocket
      There will be none of that. I lived there for a few months. It was a marketing scheme.

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому +1

      @@upsidedowndog1256 There's strips and tracks and places to test it. Why won't they?

  • @Iowa599
    @Iowa599 Рік тому

    @2:30
    Removable front-end, like a drag car!

  • @tintindb
    @tintindb 10 місяців тому

    Two thoughts keep popping up.
    Afterburner...
    Supercruise....🤔😉

  • @memorimusic420
    @memorimusic420 9 місяців тому

    The Chrysler turbine car is genuinely the coolest car ever made!

  • @Hubjeep
    @Hubjeep Рік тому

    My man Steve Lehto wrote a book about this car!

  • @TheSlowDude
    @TheSlowDude Рік тому +1

    Thanks again :-)

  • @jamest.5001
    @jamest.5001 Рік тому

    This tech used along with hydride tech. Seems to be a perfect car. Use the electric motor to handle the acceleration duties. While the engine slowly accelerates. The vehicle is moving at the requested speed. Then the engine recoupled to the drive. It could be electric with a turbine generator. The turbine only running to charge the batteries only, It could have a location for a 20lb propane tank. A 10 gallon gas tank, a 10 gallon kerosene/Diesel tank, and a 10 gallon ethanol/methanol tank. And s used oil tank, to akloe used and cleaned vegetable oil, or used engine oil to be used as fuel, Or the gas, diesel, kerosene could be one tank. And the methel/ethenol tank could be separate. Alcohol doesn't mix well with diesel,

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      Gas turbine engines are completely unsuitable for hybrid electric vehicles.
      Not a very practical concept, you need multiple fuel control systems for each type of fuel.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      Gas turbine engines are completely unsuitable for hybrid electric vehicles.
      Not a very practical concept, you need multiple fuel control systems for each type of fuel.

  • @TundeEszlari
    @TundeEszlari Рік тому

    Magical video.😁

  • @denniscarroll7696
    @denniscarroll7696 Рік тому

    Every time I hear this car turbine engine turbine engine, it sounds like a 1940s Electrolux canister vacuum cleaner. ...but on a larger scale.

  • @chuckselvage3157
    @chuckselvage3157 Рік тому

    It's said u could run those on anything combustible shame they never really took off.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +2

      The production models only ran on petroleum

  • @Low760
    @Low760 Рік тому

    Ah so Christine was a jet engine too. Makes sense :p

  • @fetzerpf
    @fetzerpf Рік тому +1

    This was the gen 4 engine but they had a gen 7 witch was smaller more effective an fuel saving and easyier to build but this engine was to good for the other Companys

  • @Xayuap
    @Xayuap Рік тому

    oh, yeah, Laurence Fishburn Biker Boyz bike.
    let's talk about that baby,

  • @frederickmfarias3109
    @frederickmfarias3109 Рік тому

    Not a failure at all, as your video demonstrates, jet engines are the most efficient and powerful. And it worked. Chrysler was the greatest automaker at the time. But did not have the infrastructure to manufacture and market its turbine car. It’s a failure of having a regulatory regime on the U. S. banking system.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому +1

      It was an epic failure and was never a viable concept.
      Gas turbine engines are completely unsuitable for automobile applications, they are too expensive and not fuel efficient at all, these cars averaged 5 mpg circuit and 15 highway, not impressive either with just 130 very sluggish horses.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      The program was canceled simply because consumers were not willing or able to afford the staggering cost of the gas turbine engine estimated to be over $55,000 dollars!!!

    • @frederickmfarias3109
      @frederickmfarias3109 Рік тому

      @@WilhelmKarsten Chrysler had previously problems in costs in manufacture of costs of critical parts of the car, but in engineering innovation was able to bring it down. They could have done the same in manufacturing the car itself overall, and In economy of scale.!

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      @@frederickmfarias3109 ​ Sorry, but that was the cost adjusted for economy of scale and automation of manufacturing process.
      Gas turbine engines are extremely expensive to manufacture and a similar 130 horsepower non-flight rated engine would cost around a half million dollars each in today's value.
      Much too expensive for mass produced automobiles.

    • @frederickmfarias3109
      @frederickmfarias3109 Рік тому

      @@WilhelmKarsten They already proved the suitability.

  • @Tom-wl9sx
    @Tom-wl9sx Рік тому

    Alot of interesting cars were made during this time. Nowadays everyone looks the same. Keep on with the good work 😀

  • @Dinolobe376
    @Dinolobe376 Рік тому

    Please stop saying "degree of celsius" 😂 I don’t know where the "of" came from but it’s not needed. It’s just "degree celsius". Most of the time people just omit the degree part and say something like "water boils at 100 Celsius or 212 Fahrenheit"

  • @infernoking7504
    @infernoking7504 Рік тому

    18mpg isn't that bad at all

  • @cherylweber1246
    @cherylweber1246 Рік тому +2

    I believe Chrysler would have continued development of the turbine. There was concerns and pressure brought by the government, I believe that was more the reason then technology.

    • @bocahdongo7769
      @bocahdongo7769 Рік тому

      Nah, it's too expensive for Chrysler anyway

    • @exothermal.sprocket
      @exothermal.sprocket Рік тому

      Regulations, regulations, regulations. That's why. Also, aircraft have furthered jet-turbine technology very well. Turns out if you have wings, you can pollute the skies to your heart's content. If you are stuck on the ground, nope. Regulations, regulations, regulations.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      That theory doesn't hold water, production costs was the reason for canceling the program.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      ​@@exothermal.sprocketNope, it a matter of economics and duty cycle.
      Gas turbine engines are more economical in commercial and military aircraft and their long service life spreads the cost of producing them over decades.
      Aircraft need high power output in cruising, automobiles seldom require high power output.

  • @hammeredbassman88
    @hammeredbassman88 Рік тому

    For something that sounds like a vacuum cleaner rolling down the road, what a cool little machine. Shame they never materialised.

  • @aquilaaudax6033
    @aquilaaudax6033 Рік тому

    ✋🏼🇦🇺👍🏼

  • @javidaderson
    @javidaderson Рік тому

    Fun fact the research and development that went into Chrysler's turbine technologies was one of the main reasons they got the contract to build the m1 Abrams.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten 5 місяців тому +1

      Wrong! The AGT-1500 was designed by former Nazi Jumo engineer Dr Anselm Franz and manufactured by Lycoming.
      Chrysler had absolutely nothing to do with the development or production of the tank or the engine!

  • @1allan2
    @1allan2 Рік тому

    Was it the threat of reliability affecting profits of the repair industry ???
    Turbines used in a common American tank seem to prove this......

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten Рік тому

      This was never an economically viable concept.
      The M1 Abrams scandal is not a good analogy..
      The General Motors XM1 won the army trials, it's Continental AVCR-1360 Diesel engine beat the Lycoming AGT-1500 gas turbine in every respect.
      The Turbine is the biggest flaw in the M1 design.

    • @2003AudiS3
      @2003AudiS3 5 місяців тому

      @@WilhelmKarstenin the second trial of the competition, Chrysler heavily fixed their prototype and GM basically changed nothing. All of Chrysler fixes made their tank better

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten 5 місяців тому

      @@2003AudiS3 That's completely false, GM won the trials and the Army awarded them the contract.
      The Pentagon, under pressure from corrupt politians in congress overruled the Army's requisition process.
      The Army cried foul and demanded an investigation which led to the congressional hearings and one of the most shameful cases of corruption in American history!

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten 4 місяці тому

      @@2003AudiS3 *The US Army rejected the Chrysler and awarded the contract to the Diesel powered General Motors XM1.*
      *The rest of the story is one of the worst corruption scandals in American history.*

    • @2003AudiS3
      @2003AudiS3 4 місяці тому

      @@WilhelmKarsten in the second trial the Chrysler was a lot better

  • @krakhedd
    @krakhedd Рік тому

    It seems like a turbine-electric hybrid would be perfect for today's markets

  • @srimansanjit6588
    @srimansanjit6588 Рік тому

    Fourth

  • @davidmonro3270
    @davidmonro3270 6 місяців тому

    At that time the race was for a low emission engine. A friend of mine designed and built a steam power unit that was the lowest emission in the world and still is to my knowledge. Took it to C.A.where it was successfully demonstrated to the public, Senators from Washington, vehicle builders and car clubs. Did they do anything about it, NO. We went to a demonstration at ANN ARBOR M.I. by the major motor mfrs.. Disappointing to say the least. Around that time a German company was given by the government100Ml. Euros to build a steamer. It turned out to be a lemon. As for the turbine car we did not it as a winner . Sorry to say just don get, it They just can't get it.

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten 5 місяців тому +1

      Ted Pritchard was a crackpot and a con man that embezzled from his investors and the government.
      His car was a pathetic joke!!!

  • @Iden_in_the_Rain
    @Iden_in_the_Rain Рік тому

    Wait why is the engine facing backwards in the thumbnail lol?

  • @stevenbean9706
    @stevenbean9706 11 місяців тому

    still much much better than the ev cars being offered today ! you can literally burn hundreds of types of fuels in this car ! takes coal or petroleum products to make power to charge a tesla or ev ! destroy the planet mining materials to build the tesla these turbines were a great idea ! still are

    • @2003AudiS3
      @2003AudiS3 5 місяців тому

      These turbines weren’t a great idea and probably never will be