Albert Ferreras
According to the German writer Hermann Hesse, "In order for the possible to emerge, it is necessary to try again and again the impossible." This is what those who thought of embedding an aviation engine in a car must have thought. How many failures? Presumably countless, but Hesse's thought eventually came true given that there are many known cases that, with greater or lesser fortune, have managed to perpetuate themselves over time and go down in history as terrestrial hybrids with an aeronautical heart.
Let's narrow the matter down, and start by leaving aside the so-called record hunters, the vehicles destined for acceleration races powered by aviation turbines, and those that participate in competitions dragging heavy loads based on the gross power provided by the same type of impellers. We will also discard those inventions consisting of machines powered by a mechanics and a propeller that, when completed by a pair of wings coupled to the bodywork, become motorways: avio cars, or whatever you prefer to call them.
It is not that you want to exclude all these vehicles from the historical panorama; it is simply that its foundation to exist is, as in the powerful boats offshore, the competition of maximum speed and power, something only achieved with the aeronautical piston or jet engines. Neither will each and every one of the car models animated by a mechanic of this type be addressed here, since we would need a second article or perhaps even an entire monographic website.
1- Hispano-Suiza H-6, during the elegance contest held in Peeble Beach in 2003
2- The engine that revolutionized internal combustion mechanics
That said, we are going to recount the origins of this particular way of driving a car and focus on just six copies that, for your curiosity, I think may be to the liking of the majority. Of course, we will avoid making any reference to your fuel consumption ...
It may be that the official origin of vehicles with aviation engines is found just after the end of World War I. Specifically, in the Paris Salon of 1919, where it was presented the Hispano-Suiza H6 with inline six-cylinder mechanics designed by Marc Birkigt, the brand's star engineer. Its engine was, in essence, half of the V12 engine created previously by the same technician for the mythical SE5a airplane and that decided the tragic battle in the sky.
However, the Fiat Botafogo -name taken from a famous Argentine racehorse- dates from 1917. It is a cyclops built by an Argentine racer named Adolfo Scandroglio, who was an admirer of Sir Ernst Eldridge, father at the time. of the Fiat Mefistofele that we already had the opportunity to talk about a few months ago. Scandroglio manufactured a monster with a Fiat A.12 engine, six cylinders and 21,7 liters of displacement (each piston displaces 3 liters!) Which reached 100 km / h at a smooth speed of 800 rpm.
[su_youtube_advanced https=»yes» url='https://youtube.com/watch?v=scGfHwiB00s' ]
1- Jay Leno at the controls of the Fiat Botafogo
2- Fiat A.12 engine mounted on the Botafogo
Today, this vehicle is quietly driven through the streets of Los Angeles by owner Jay Leno, the leading showman of Los Angeles. beats shows Americans. A kind of Buenafuente whose garage of around 100 cars and more than 70 motorcycles would delight any fan of the most barbaric beauties on wheels. Leno owns three other fireballs powered by aeronautical engines.
Merlin has a Rolls-Royce and lives in Malaga
In 1920 the first of a series of six curious automobiles appeared for racing vehicles powered by aeronautical mechanics. Built by Louis Zborowski, they were christened Chitty Bang Bang, This name should not be confused with that of the almost homonymous film which was inspired possibly by the curious noise produced by certain airplanes. You can see one of these machines with its creator on board in the header image.
The Chitty 1 was based on a Mercedes chassis and a 23-liter six-cylinder Maybach engine was mounted on top of it. After a short life in racing, it would unfortunately be scrapped, its mechanics being rescued and sold to the editor Motor Sport W. Body.
1- The Napier-Railton, in a photo taken in 1937 during the Coronation Gold Trophy race, held in Brooklands
2- Powerful aeronautical mechanics of almost 24 liters and 580 horses
Remarkable for its beauty, the fourth example of a motor vehicle -in principle- destined to fly is the 1933 Napier-Railton. Designed by Reid Railton, it broke 47 speed records between 1933 and 1935 thanks in large part to its engine of 12 cylinders in W Napier Lion of 23,944 liters that developed 580 CV at 2.585 rpm and 1.500 meters of altitude, that at sea level these figures vary, it is already known. Precisely, this hybrid maintains the speed record of the Brooklands circuit, in Surrey -United Kingdom-, since this route, which was the first in the world, was discontinued in the years before World War II.
And finally, two more examples of what can be done with an engine of the type we are dealing with today; specifically, with the mythical Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 of 27.000 cc and 3.000 hp that propelled the North American P-51s Mustang, model of fighter-bomber known as "the Cadillac of the sky." In the first case, the power plant was caged in a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe that had once belonged to actress Ava Gardner.
Prepared by Rod Hadfield for 15 years, the vehicle was painted in tribute to the pilots of the North American 352 Squadron stationed at the British base of Bodney, better known as the Bastards of Morro Azul. The Bel Air is approved for road use, although its driving position is more like that of an airplane than that of a car.
[su_youtube_advanced https=»yes» url='https://youtube.com/watch?v=SIj2GVfua84′ ]
1- 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe prepared by Rod Hadfield
2- Driving position, more similar to that of an airplane than that of a car
The second case of a Merlin V12 that flies low is found in Malaga! held on the chassis built especially for him in 1960 by Paul Jameson. Sold shortly thereafter to its current owner, John Dodd, an automatic gearbox specialist, The Beast -as he was appropriately baptized- he has suffered several vicissitudes in his busy life. Thus, during the 70s it was sponsored by BP and was once considered the most powerful car in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.
In an exhibition in Stockholm the beast suffered a fire that destroyed its body based on that of a Ford Capri, but not its engine. On the other hand, at first it sported a Rolls-Royce front grille, but a lawsuit caused the removal of all emblems from the vehicle referring to the English manufacturer. Since then it has worn the initials JD (John Dodd) and, however, the technical sheet officially states that it is a Rolls-Royce, since its engine, indeed, is.
Anyway, it has to be quite an experience trying to get them off the ground!
[su_youtube_advanced https=»yes» url='https://youtube.com/watch?v=OxMxFE37Sxw' ]
1- John Dodd with "The Beast" during the time he was wearing his first body
