Cars That Time Forgot: The Rover Turbine Cars

"RaymondStantz" (RaymondStantz) 12/12/2013 at 14:01 • Filed to: Cars that time forgot, rover, turbine. rover jet1, rover brm, le mans

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Not too long ago, I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! an 80stastic video that delved into the awesome that was the Austin Rover motorsports program. Needless to say, for all the jabs I throw their way, they actually didn't fair too poorly. Heck, I'd even like a rally special SD1... I'm not crazy for that, am I?

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Anyway, my own sanity aside, far before the creation of Austin Rover, years prior to the disaster that was British Leyland, Rover was putting along building cars like the P5 and P6. Growing up, kids my age frothed at the mouth over Nissan Skylines and Toyota Supras (I'm really not that old, if you can't immediately tell). Of course, I was the weird one that popped open his Big Book of Cars and saw the P6 and thought "Hm, that actually looks pretty awesome". I didn't have friends. This was all very fascinating to a ten year old me. Ogling this foreign exotica like my fellow 13 year old friends ogled the porn mags they found under their father's beds. Well, let's be honest, we had the internet by then, but shut up, I'm trying to make this clever. It actually wasn't until much later that I learned that Rover got quite bored and decided to build some turbine cars.

This is the world's first turbine powered car. Pretty hardcore for 1950. Based on a mishmash of the Rover P4 and whatever else Rover could find in the parts bin. I think it looks quite sharp. They were dangerous and horrifically inefficient, but who cares? Oh, uh, rational folks. Those exist. As a result, the P6 never got this lovely powerplant that was originally in the prototype.

Even though they could virtually run on anything flammable, it just wasn't justifiable in any way, shape, or form. At the very least we got a great looking prototype out of it, no?

So where did these engines end up? Luckily, they weren't scrapped, but rather used in Rover's own Le Mans effort. Driven by Graham Hill, the car did not actually place for the 1963 or 64 seasons, as it was considered to be an experimental car. By 1965 however, it was allowed to participate, and finished 10th overall. Respectable I'd say, no? Plus they just look great.

Well, that wasn't entirely technical, but I'll be sure to answer any questions in the comments! In the words of our mustachioed hero of masculinity: "You're sitting in this thing that you might call a motor car and the next minute it sounds as if you've got a 707 just behind you, about to suck you up and devour you like an enormous monster." - Graham Hill

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > RaymondStantz 12/12/2013 at 14:18

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These things were awesome! And I almost did a CTTF on these myself. I'm writing up about a different car with a weird engine though. WIth all the love the chrysler turbine prototype gets it is astounding how few gearheads remember that Rover made a small fleet of prototypes and even race cars using turbine engines.

RaymondStantz > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 12/12/2013 at 14:21

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I'd be happy to see more people contribute to CTTF!