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Technology in race cars (18): STP-Paxton Turbocar - whoosh and away!

Name: STP-Paxton Turbocar 1967
Brand: STP-Paxton

Created on July 22, 2022

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Archiv Gerhard Schütz

STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - The unusual exterior shape follows the special interior design

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - The chassis from the front. The air brake in the rear

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - The chassis from behind. The air brake with the hydraulic cylinder is clearly visible

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Hurst Floor Shift Special (1964) - "Sidecar Racer" by Smokey Yunick, revolutionary and archaic at the same time. Front transverse leaf spring at the top, drum brakes, De-Dion axle at the rear. Unfortunately, the rider could not be completely removed

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Hurst Floor Shift Special (1964) - The driver still got a place at the side. Center radiator directly in front of the engine

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Harvey Aluminum Special (1963) - Mickey Thompson's flounder with twelve-inch wheels

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - chassis art. You weren't fooled by an X for a U

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - Elegant powerhouse

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - Already in the lead on the first lap from sixth on the grid

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Mickey Thompson Spit-Fire (1967) - Why not a front-mounted central engine, front-wheel drive and four-wheel steering?

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Mickey Thompson Spit-Fire (1967) - rear axle without drive, but with steering

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - The front axle drive is elegantly solved

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Hurst Floor Shift Special (1964) - Sidecar in Indy

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - Wusch! Already over.

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - Parnelli Jones next to a Lotus 56 with Jim Clark during tire testing in Indy in 1968. The Paxton has a new front air intake

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - A 16mm film camera records the values of the 13 display instruments during test drives. Obviously Jones is on the brakes, so that the brake flap has risen up

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - The Pratt & Whitney ST6B-62 gas turbine. Inlet and compressor turbine on the right, combustion chamber in the center, power turbine and exhaust gas duct on the left.

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - Detailed view of the front axle with the internal coil springs and the differential gear

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - 13 display instruments for the test drives

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STP-Paxton Turbocar (1967) - power turbine output on the torque converter

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Summary

A response worse than any turbo lag and only a single forward gear - yet the STP Paxton drove the competition into the ground on its debut. The gas turbine racing car from 1967 could have been the future of the Indy Car Series had it not been thwarted by the regulations. This article from the series "Technology in racing cars from 1958 to 1978" looks at the STP-Paxton Turbocar in detail and shows it in historical footage.

This article contains the following chapters

100,000 dollars salary, six dollars damage
Central tube instead of mid-engine
Granatelli, the nutcracker
Curiosities and prohibitions

Estimated reading time: 6min

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 an Indy Car with an unusual drive system. "Whooshmobile" - that's what the competition and the public in Indianapolis called the car in 1967, which also appeared to be from another planet to the eye. The nickname was an attempt to characterize the unusual rushing sound of this car, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the hammering and screeching of its reciprocating engine competitors. Its power unit was a Pratt & Whitney Canada ST6B-62 gas turbine with 550 hp and a huge amount of torque.

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