The problem that Chrysler and Jay Leno found is that jet engines work best at full RPM with no changes. Jay found that his Eco-Jet idled at 200HP and he had to be on the brakes all the time in normal driving, then he had nothing left in reserve to stop at speed. He got custom Brembo brakes in order to keep the Corvette brakes he tried at first from burning up. Not really good for a road car.
But a turbine is perfect for twisting a generator at a constant speed.
Indeed, and could easily be done with today’s tech. Jet engines are pretty touchy, but a computer could take care of everything.
Combined with a small battery it would be pretty close to perfect (I think).
I remember watching Jay Leno’s jet car, and I was a bit disappointed with the problems he was having, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.
He should do it again combined with electric.
Another option is a hydrogen generator which GM is messing around with.
Kind of disappointing because they announced a car but it’s just a concept. Lambo will be working with MIT over the next three years to make it a reality test bed for wild future tech ideas. Like super capacitor batteries and bodywork made of carbon fiber nanotubes that will also be batteries.
I’m totally cool with this concept car.
I’m very happy they’re doing supercapacitor development, also carbon fiber nanotubes that can heal and hold power… Crazy! I don’t even know what to say other than I hope they can make it a thing.
Also looking at the inside of the wheels, leads me to believe the electric motors might be in the wheels, which would element almost all drivetrain loss. Something I’m extremely surprised I haven’t seen in electric cars yet.
Very cool.
And on the opposite end of the automotive spectrum.
LOL
Haha, That was pretty great.
I have a buddy that had the wagon accord. He put a turbo on it.
I love how it’s a work of art on the inside and a pile of shit on the outside.
That’s his specialty.
I’ve posted this before, but this is the same guy.
He’s doing an engine swap in it right now.
What engine is that?
My Dad had that truck with a big camper in the bed that hung over the sides. One morning a drunk driver ran into him head on. He was ok but the truck was toast. Dad and I removed the cab and sawed the frame in half to make it into a trailer.
It was the jankyest, most ill handling, dangerous thing I have ever used on a public road. If you went over 50 MPH the whole thing would start serving back and forth uncontrollably and it nearly spun out the car that was towing it. Dad refused to listen to me to add an anti-sway bar.
It’s a ka24e. I don’t know anything else about it. I haven’t really talked to him since he first started the project. It should be safe to say that it will get a turbo shortly after it’s finished.
I almost bought one of these Datsuns for my first car, but the guy was out of town, so I went with my other option which was a 81 Ram 50.
Been there before. I bought a crappy dual axle trailer for 100 bucks, sunk about $300 into it and then realized how sketchy it was. Still have it, but don’t know what to do with it. Not willing to rip somebody off to get my money back.
I actually really like the look.
I also like it a lot. He was real proud of darking out the grill.
What I like most about that Lambo is most ‘Blue Sky Dream’ projects like this are top secret highly classified behind closed doors you can’t see it till it’s finished. I don’t think I have ever seen a project where a major manufacturer say 'We don’t know what we are going to do, but you can bet it will be cool!"
Usually statements like that only come from startups that never pull it off or make a real car.
With Lambo and MIT doing this, you can bet they will finish it.
It looks like ka24e comes from the 240sx.
The big problem with turbines is the lack of torque when starting from a dead stop.
Ironically the big advantage of electric engines over gasoline is the torque on starting from a dead stop.
That would be a hybrid that would be exciting, 1000hp sleeper Prius
“Volkswagen was the first carmaker to adopt quantum computers. Earlier this year, it announced its first successful project to significantly improve travel times for 10,000 taxis in Beijing using a D-Wave quantum annealing computer.”
I really like this idea.
Turkey bought the defunct Saab technology and is working with Elon Musk to make an electric car with a tiny range extender gasoline engine. Their own car industry has limited resources and they are using a good older chassis and pairing up with a leader in electric vehicles to make an inexpensive national standard car.
I know having the government selling cars is scary, but it will jump-start their people to make their own.
Plus it will standardize the charging ports and replacement parts and stuff. I’m sure Elon can’t wait because that means people will buy Tesla’s when they want to upgrade.
Anyone ever use Riken tires? Tire Rack has some fancy ones for less than $60 a tire. They get good ratings it looks like.