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Rover's turbine cars - an era without a breakthrough

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Created on June 1, 1988

Text:

Rob de la Rive Box / Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

22

Archiv

22

Rover T4 (1962) - turbine car - prototype and forerunner of the conventionally powered P6

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - world record (243.5 kmh) in Jabbeke, already with modified front end

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Rover Jet 1 (1950) - at the presentation in Silverstone (?)

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Rover 75 (1952) - new face and detailed improvements to the bodywork, with the gas turbine to the left

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - the gas turbine used - shown at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - the gas turbine used - shown at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - P6 with 100 hp at 40,000 rpm, P8 with 200 hp at 52,000 rpm

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - the gas turbine used

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - the gas turbine used

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Rover Jet 1 (1952) - a different perspective on the turbine

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Rover T3 (1956) - Turbine vehicle with four-wheel drive, plastic body, internal disc brakes

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Rover T3 (1956) - the first turbine vehicle developed specifically for this drive technology

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Rover T3 (1958) - Turbine vehicle with Duke Edinburgh

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Rover T3 (1956) - Transparent drawing including dimensions

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Rover T4 (1961) - View of the gas turbine installed at the front in the well-insulated engine compartment, heat exchangers at the rear

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Rover T4 (1963) - view through the gas turbine

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Rover T4 (1963) - How the gas turbine works

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Rover-BRM for Le Mans 1963

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Rover-BRM for Le Mans 1963 - lap of honor together with the T4 road prototype, the Jet 1 and the T3

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Rover BRM (1963) - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1963 - Gas turbine car, winner of Le Mans

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Rover (1964) - Advertisement from 1964 -

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Rover-BRM gas turbine car (1965) - the racing car for the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Summary

A wide variety of car companies have already been working on the turbine car. They promised a future with simpler drives and powerful vehicles. Prototypes and even small series were created. Rover was also a pioneer, building several turbine cars and even considering series production. This article summarizes the turbine years at Rover and forms the start of a small series that will then go into more detail about individual cars.

This article contains the following chapters

Aircraft engines first
The gas turbine idea
First test drives
Record attempts
Series pioneer?
With BRM to Le Mans
Second attempt at Le Mans
Advantages of a turbine engine
Disadvantages of the gas turbine

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the fifties and sixties, a wide variety of car companies were involved with the turbine car. They created prototypes, some of which were tested and some of which were exhibited. Chrysler went even further and built a test series of 200 units with which "normal" drivers could also gain experience. The English company Rover also produced such turbine vehicles; in fact, it was one of the first companies to work intensively on them. Frank Whittle was not only an excellent fighter pilot who made it to Commodore in the RAF, he was also a good technician. At the age of 23, he acquired his first patent for a gas turbine engine suitable for airplanes. This engine was launched for the first time in 1937, and two years later, with the Second World War just around the corner, the Gloster aircraft factory took over the project. The first prototype was produced as early as 1941, but it was not until the summer of 1944 that the first Gloster Meteor was used against the German V1 Wunderwaffe. Germany had also experimented with turbine and jet engines. The Messerschmitt Me-262, which completed its first test flights in 1943, became well known here. By the end of the war, 5000 of these had been built. The engines were developed in collaboration between Junkers and BMW.

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