Jet Cars, Part 1: Real & Not So Real

Our last feature on the Pinin Farina Cadillacs referred to the jet-themed PF200 designs built on six Lancia (and one Cadillac) chassis.   Below we see a coupe from 1953 on the long-wheelbase Aurelia B-52 chassis, and (in color) a coupe on a B55 chassis from 1955.

Note the same jet-like air intake as on the Cadillac, the wraparound glass cabin on the coupe, and a raised and tapered center section of the trunk which breaks up what would otherwise be a rather long, flat panel.  As on PF's 1953-4 Cadillac, this feature may also be a reference to the boat tails on PF designs from the 1930s, like the Caddy V16 featured in the last post.  In 1951, GM released its Le Sabre concept car which was replete with jet references, like an oval air intake at the front, prominent fins, and a giant circular (and completely fake) jet exhaust at the rear...

But none of these cars were powered by turbine engines; they all had conventional internal combustion piston engines.  That said, the Lancias had very advanced light-alloy V6s in front, with rear-mounted transmissions for balanced weight distribution, and the glitzy Le Sabre had a high compression V8*. Early experiments with real jet cars were made first by Rover in England, which built Jet One in 1949 and made steady improvements in turbine technology, running a turbine racer at LeMans in the 1960s. Below is Jet One...

The next research car comes from Fiat in 1954, which tested a car with prominent fins, jet intake and exhaust hinting at the real turbine power, doors that curved into the roof, and the hand-formed light alloy compound curves by then associated with Italian road racers.

And in 1956, Renault's Etoile Filante (Shooting Star) appeared.  While the faux jet cars had all adapted styling cues from aircraft, the Shooting Star looked for all the world like the speed record streamliners that showed up every year at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the French factory sent it there for tests.

But of all the manufacturers who looked at gas turbine power plants for road cars, it was Chrysler Corporation which came closest to a production car, and which actually delivered test cars into the eager hands of a jet-loving public.  That story will be told in Part 2 of Jet Cars.

*Footnote:  The Le Sabre featured a supercharged aluminum V8 of 215 cubic inches, and paralleled the Lancia in featuring a transaxle.  In this case, though, it was a Dynaflow (nobody's favorite transmission) which was later traded for a Hydramatic unit by the engineers at GM.  Under the skin, then, the car was a precursor of the 1961 Pontiac Tempest (at least the V8 version), except for that supercharger.

Photo Credits:
Lancia PF 200 coupe, top black & white shots:  Pinin Farina 
Lancia PF 200, 2nd from top:  the author
GM Le Sabre:  oldconceptcars.com
Rover Jet One:  bbc.co.uk
Fiat Turbino:  autoconcept-reviews.com
Renault Etoile Filante:  group.renault.com