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Technology in race cars (23): Howmet TX prototype 1968 - Gas plant

Name: Howmet TX 1968
Brand: Howmet

Created on November 24, 2022

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Fotorissima

Dave Friedman

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Photo Classic Racing - Courtesy Peter Auto

"Gasoline and Magic", Edition Patrick Frey, 2015

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

Fotorissima

Dave Friedman

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Photo Classic Racing - Courtesy Peter Auto

"Gasoline and Magic", Edition Patrick Frey, 2015

Archiv

Howmet TX (1968) - The Howmet turbine car at the pit stop (12 Hours of Sebring 1968)

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Howmet TX Mark II (1969) - Teledyne CAE Turbine TS-325-1 for use in the Howmet

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Howmet TX (1969) - The open version of the Howmet as it was used for world record rides

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Howmet TX (1968) - Le Mans didn't bring the second Howmet any luck either

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Howmet TX (1968) - Howmet TX at the 12 Hours of Sebring-Florida 1968 - The team had to retire after seven and a half hours

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Howmet TX (1968) - The unconventional cockpit of the Howmet TX makes it clear that the manufacturer also worked together with the aircraft industry

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Howmet TX (1968) - in action at Le Mans in 1968

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Howmet TX (1968) - Le Mans Classic 2018 - Plateau 5

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Howmet TX (1968) - Dick Thompson in the TX at the B.O.A.C. 500 at Brands Hatch, braking at Druid's Corner

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Howmet TX (1968) at the Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or 2017 in Dijon - CER1

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Howmet TX (1968) - Continental built the TS-325-1 turbine only for use in racing cars

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Howmet TX (1968) - the Continental TS-325-1 turbine is clearly visible, the tank sits in front of it

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Howmet TX (1968) - Bob Tullis and Ray Heppenstall, who was also responsible for the design and engineering of the race car

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Howmet TX (1968) - the drivers of the TX Tullius, Heppenstall and Thompson pose at Le Mans in 1968

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Howmet TX (1968) - Classic Endurance Racing 1 - Dix Mille Tour 2017

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Howmet TX (1968) - in the Plateau 5 (1966-1971) at the Le Mans Classic 2012

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The Howmet TX turbine car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1968 - Gasoline and Magic (book review) - sample photo from the book

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Le Mans Classic 2012 - The Grid 5 rolls over the Dunlop hill - in the middle of it the Howmet TX with the impressive heat flicker

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Howmet TX (1968) - Clearly labeled toggle switches

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Howmet TX (1968) - Dick Thompson and Ray Heppenstall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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Howmet TX (1968) - fittings with two tachometers and oil pressure gauge

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McKee Mark 14 (1969) - with four-wheel drive and automatic transmission

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Rover-BRM Le Mans (1965) - Drivers Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill in conversation

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Rover-BRM Le Mans (1965) - still with starting number 35 during test drives at Le Mans

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Summary

While the gas turbine had relatively quickly become obsolete as a drive system for passenger cars, it was still being experimented with in racing at the end of the 1960s. Although the Howmet TX was not the first of its kind, it was the first and still the only turbine car to win an officially regulated race against reciprocating piston cars. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" presents the most successful of all gas turbine racing cars and shows it in historic racing use.

This article contains the following chapters

Me and Bobby McKee
Three-liter turbine without gearbox
Slow response
Foot brake instead of engine brake

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The years 1958-1978 were the two most creative decades in the history of racing technology. This series portrays the most innovative, pioneering and exotic designs of Formula 1, Indy cars, sports cars and Can-Am, and at the same time traces the major lines of development that still have an impact today. The series started with Lotus, one of the most important innovation drivers of these two decades. And the series will also finish with Lotus. This time, everything revolves around another failed racing prototype with a gas turbine. After the Second World War, people began to look to the future again and did not shy away from futuristic projects. The gas turbine became a permanent innovation in automobile and racing car construction, so to speak. Rover presented the T1 prototype in 1950, General Motors the Firebird XP-21 in 1953 and Fiat the Turbina in 1954. In 1956, Renault set a world record of 308 km/h on the Bonneville salt lake with the "Etoile filante".

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