Jay is an ultimate asset to our hobby. He not only has the means but the passion to preserve and restore a lot of vehicles that otherwise would have been lost forever - and the Turbine Car is a prime example of that. I'm not jealous of such a guy - instead, I have a deep appreciation of his efforts. - Ed on the Ridge
100% agree. We found out there are only 2 of these cars that still run so to see and hear one in-person was truly a rare opportunity for those in attendance.
Not only does Jay preserve cars, he is not afraid to take them out of his private 'museum' and take them to shows (such as this) for the general public to see 👍
I had the privilege of riding in one of these (the one that was in St. Louis) in the early 2000's, and after the ride I added my name to a booklet log that listed all those who got to ride in one ;-) That was one COOL car!
I saw one in 64-65. We were walking down a street in Dallas and one started coming out of a parking garage. I was glad that I knew what it was and could tell others.
I lived in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI across the street from Robert Roger, the chief designer at Chrysler who penned the Turbine and had one in his garage!
I'm delighted Jay and his team were able to rebuild the engine, I hope they included some fail-safe mechanisms that can shut off fuel if temps rise above limits because this thing is so unique and expensive. Such automatic engine controls are commonplace in modern aircraft turbines.
The father of a kid in my Boy Scout troop had a Chrysler jet turbine car then (65?). I never got to ride in it, but saw it a couple times at meetings. I remember it took some time to warm up after being off for a while!
I can remember riding in one at the 64 world's fair, it was so cool! The coolest part though was a lady in Queens Village, who had one she would offer us rides for cool she would throw Kerosene in it to power it between this and the mustang rides at the Ford Exhibition it was car heaven!
In a documentary about the turbine car, the Jay Leno owns they talk about how he burned up the motor and they started restoring it but there’s nothing else about the continuation of restoring it and get it back together and getting it running that I’ve seen until this or it’s done, I would like to see more documentaries of them restoring this motor for Jay Leno
We’re sure the documentary is coming. He literally just got the car back on Saturday, August 17 when this video was recorded at the 2024 Woodward Dream Cruise.
Ford had a turbine car before Chrysler. They used a 1957 Thunderbird. There problem was not regenerating the heat. They put huge exhaust vents in the front fenders between the tire and the door. There are pictures of the car online
@@VGHCX I saw a documentary where the head of chrysler engine department took one to the drag strip and drove it proper. People were scared of revving it to 20,000 rpm tot the power and efficiency it was capable of. He beat the fastest production hemi of the day.
@@VGHCX why do you want to argue? Why do you think I have a need to lie? Get over yourself. It also explained in the documentary I watched why they scrapped it.
The Swiss company Brown, Boverei und Cie made turbine locomotives in 1930s and BMW put them in trucks and tanks during WW2.. The M1 Abrams engine was designed by Jumo and originally used a Me-262 engine as its core gas generator.
Screech on sir, fill the universe with your joyless opinion, let your voice be heard. Fact is nobody is listening, cares, will ever care what you have to say. You know nothing of possible motivation of someone as nice as Jay Leno.
There are a lot of wealthy people who don't seem to get joy from their success the way that Jay Leno does. He earned his wealth by entertaining people, and he is giving back in his own way.
That car has always bothered me because it looks too much like a Thunderbird which was a successful car. Oh, I liked and subscribed, just don't like the disturbine turbine which is what I call it.
@NetWit20 if you listened to the video he says it was designed by the same guy that designed the Thunderbird. So it's not coincidence it looks like one.
@sdmoparmaninsd6713 this was at our parking lot at MSHS HEMI’nsanity just like the post says. If you were there you would know that. Jay’s 2nd year in a row on Woodward Avenue with us.
Wankel! Correcting myself… This is a turbine, not a rotary engine. It must be far more rare than a Wankel type engine I think Mazda made quite few of. I still enjoy randomly yelling the word “Wankel” though.
History states that the turbines Cost ~10,000$ each to MFG while a Complete car typially cost ~2000$ to buy at the time. There was No way back then to reduce power unit costs.... so they were repurchased and scrapped as they were considered as a corporate Embarrassment.
In an interview Chrysler Museum collection manger Brandt Rosenbusch, he revealed that the production cost of the turbine engine was estimated at around $50,000 each in 1963 dollars (around $400,000 in 2018) or the about the same price as 16 new cars in 1963. Test families were surveyed and when asked if they would be willing to pay 50,000 or more for the car answered with an overwhelming NO. The program was shut down and the vehicles scrapped and used as a tax write-off, development programs are often funded by this type of write-off and the money recycled over and over again.
Jay is an ultimate asset to our hobby. He not only has the means but the passion to preserve
and restore a lot of vehicles that otherwise would have been lost forever - and the Turbine Car
is a prime example of that.
I'm not jealous of such a guy - instead, I have a deep appreciation of his efforts.
- Ed on the Ridge
100% agree. We found out there are only 2 of these cars that still run so to see and hear one in-person was truly a rare opportunity for those in attendance.
Not only does Jay preserve cars, he is not afraid to take them out of his private 'museum' and take them to shows (such as this) for the general public to see 👍
I got a ride in one in 1964. I remember that jet engine sound. What a piece of history.
I'm Impressed- Jay is in his Sunday Best outfit !
I had the privilege of riding in one of these (the one that was in St. Louis) in the early 2000's, and after the ride I added my name to a booklet log that listed all those who got to ride in one ;-) That was one COOL car!
Very cool! Thanks for sharing.
Your a very lucky guy to have that privilege. Well done.
Jays a national treasure.
Jay is super awesome!
I saw one in 64-65. We were walking down a street in Dallas and one started coming out of a parking garage. I was glad that I knew what it was and could tell others.
I lived in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI across the street from Robert Roger, the chief designer at Chrysler who penned the Turbine and had one in his garage!
I'm delighted Jay and his team were able to rebuild the engine, I hope they included some fail-safe mechanisms that can shut off fuel if temps rise above limits because this thing is so unique and expensive. Such automatic engine controls are commonplace in modern aircraft turbines.
Awesome thanks for posting I could listen to Jay for hours.Great guy
Very cool car and history!
The father of a kid in my Boy Scout troop had a Chrysler jet turbine car then (65?). I never got to ride in it, but saw it a couple times at meetings. I remember it took some time to warm up after being off for a while!
I can remember riding in one at the 64 world's fair, it was so cool! The coolest part though was a lady in Queens Village, who had one she would offer us rides for cool she would throw Kerosene in it to power it between this and the mustang rides at the Ford Exhibition it was car heaven!
An amazing car.😎
In a documentary about the turbine car, the Jay Leno owns they talk about how he burned up the motor and they started restoring it but there’s nothing else about the continuation of restoring it and get it back together and getting it running that I’ve seen until this or it’s done, I would like to see more documentaries of them restoring this motor for Jay Leno
We’re sure the documentary is coming. He literally just got the car back on Saturday, August 17 when this video was recorded at the 2024 Woodward Dream Cruise.
There is something out there. I've seen it. Guys at Williams Int'l that came back out of retirement to work on it.
Thanks
I've seen Jay drive it past the camera and IT IS NOT EVEN QUIET LET ALONE SILENT!!
Great video
Cool
Jay looks like he's thinning down, but that head is still huge.😊
Be kind. He's loosing his wife..
The late great Chrysler ....
Remember when first saw chrysler turbine orange paint..
from k-cars to jet cars, the Chrysler corporation
1927 - 1999 R.I.P
Ford had a turbine car before Chrysler. They used a 1957 Thunderbird. There problem was not regenerating the heat. They put huge exhaust vents in the front fenders between the tire and the door. There are pictures of the car online
BMW made the first gas turbine vehicles in 1944.
People more interested in getting pictures than listening to him talk lol
The mindless generation.
Engine could run on many fuels. Key factor. Something like that could never be made available to the public.
I ran a 1976 Torino on aqua net hair spray when I ran out of gas feet from my driveway. Filled the bowl on the carb and drove it into the driveway.
@@roddycreswell8613 Very resourceful.
Multi-fuel engines are available, people just buy them.
Young people in the crowd:
Drum brakes? 🤔🥁
Me: 😄
early Chinese MG owners would know 😬
Can you imagine what jays collection is going to go for at auction- tim the tool man will probably buy most of them
It will be split up
Jay has always been a car guy. The talk show was just a side gig.
Didn't even know it was running until 5:00
There’s an entire video of it running. Scroll down our page to hear it.
This car took 15 seconds to reach 60MPH. In Spite of the fact the engine had 425 Pound ft. of torque. It's fuel milage was terrible too.
That’s strange, it beat a 426 hemi in the quarter mile.
@@roddycreswell8613 Who told you that? The turbine car never made it into full production because it was inefficient in every manner for a street car.
@@VGHCX I saw a documentary where the head of chrysler engine department took one to the drag strip and drove it proper. People were scared of revving it to 20,000 rpm tot the power and efficiency it was capable of. He beat the fastest production hemi of the day.
@@roddycreswell8613 There are videos here on RUclips explaining why the turbine car was scrapped. See for yourself
@@VGHCX why do you want to argue? Why do you think I have a need to lie? Get over yourself. It also explained in the documentary I watched why they scrapped it.
I wonder if the engine is based on one that was pre-existing
I think some sort of missile
The Swiss company Brown, Boverei und Cie made turbine locomotives in 1930s and BMW put them in trucks and tanks during WW2.. The M1 Abrams engine was designed by Jumo and originally used a Me-262 engine as its core gas generator.
i didn't know he could restore the turbine of this car after the incident.
He didn't. It was restored by a team of people.
At the time it couldn't. But the company helped and the old guys still alive came baco, employees volunteered
Turbine at ground level just isn’t efficient for a car.
Chrysler's Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit's Coolest Creation
Steve Lehto, Jay Leno This is the whole story.
Steve Lehto standing behind Jay!
Where??? The guy in black isn't Lehto.
It’s funny how Jay pronounces turbine, last I checked a Turban was that funny hat that East Indian people wear.
Turbine is a French word and is correctly pronounced Tur-_ben_ East Indians wear a DASTAR.
So nice of Jay to show us time and again that to enjoy all the really good things in life you need to be filthy rich.
Screech on sir, fill the universe with your joyless opinion, let your voice be heard. Fact is nobody is listening, cares, will ever care what you have to say. You know nothing of possible motivation of someone as nice as Jay Leno.
There are a lot of wealthy people who don't seem to get joy from their success the way that Jay Leno does. He earned his wealth by entertaining people, and he is giving back in his own way.
That car has always bothered me because it looks too much like a Thunderbird which was a successful car. Oh, I liked and subscribed, just don't like the disturbine turbine which is what I call it.
@NetWit20 if you listened to the video he says it was designed by the same guy that designed the Thunderbird. So it's not coincidence it looks like one.
This was at Woodward, not whatever hemi shootout...
@sdmoparmaninsd6713 this was at our parking lot at MSHS HEMI’nsanity just like the post says. If you were there you would know that. Jay’s 2nd year in a row on Woodward Avenue with us.
We don’t get to see it startup and drive? C’mon.
There’s an entire video of it running on our page. Scroll down
Wankel!
Correcting myself…
This is a turbine, not a rotary engine. It must be far more rare than a Wankel type engine I think Mazda made quite few of.
I still enjoy randomly yelling the word “Wankel” though.
0:37….55 cars built but then at 2:10….he says 50 were built. Is my man slipping?!?
A Chrysler Turbine car.. at a Fiat convention.
jay looks terrible, hope he is well
Was thinking he looks much fitter myself
Caring for a wife with dementia can take some out of a person. And he's 74 after all.
@@digigarb He's lost weight for sure.
History states that the turbines Cost ~10,000$ each to MFG while a Complete car typially cost ~2000$ to buy at the time.
There was No way back then to reduce power unit costs.... so they were repurchased and scrapped as they were considered as a corporate Embarrassment.
That information is incorrect.
In an interview Chrysler Museum collection manger Brandt Rosenbusch, he revealed that the production cost of the turbine engine was estimated at around $50,000 each in 1963 dollars (around $400,000 in 2018) or the about the same price as 16 new cars in 1963.
Test families were surveyed and when asked if they would be willing to pay 50,000 or more for the car answered with an overwhelming NO. The program was shut down and the vehicles scrapped and used as a tax write-off, development programs are often funded by this type of write-off and the money recycled over and over again.
Cute kid
Even for a Chrysler this thing is ugly.