Jalopnik: Jet

2013 Cobra Jet Mustang: Snakes! On a plane? No, a Mustang!

Ray Wert — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:30:00 EST

Today, Ford Racing unveiled the 2013 Cobra Jet Mustang at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show in Orlando, Fla. The new Cobra Jet, designed for NHRA Stock and Super Stock competition, features two new 5.0-liter TiVCT engine options. More »

Houston's secret suburban fighter jet

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT

"You know there's a Phantom like a block away, right?" my friend Kevin exclaimed as I drained my last sip of beer. "Oh, a Rolls?" I asked, uninterested in the prospect of seeing another luxo-cruiser. "No, an F-4 Phantom fighter jet." This I had to see. More »

Continental passenger tried to open jet door to kill himself

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:30:00 EDT

A 34-year-old man attempted to commit suicide by opening the door of a Continental passenger jet traveling from Houston to Chicago. Having been on that same flight numerous times we can't relate. The Southwest flight is much worse. Midway, ugh. More »

Imagine these car drawings going 1,000 mph

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EDT

The team behind Thrust SSC — the world's fastest land vehicle — have been working hard to ready their even faster 1,000+ mph BLOODHOUND SSC. And they have the 3D drawings to prove it'll be the fastest hybrid car ever conceived. More »

Watch the jet-powered Mini Cooper take off

Justin Hyde — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 13:30:00 EST

When your car modification involves creating a special sliding roof so that the exhaust from your rear-mounted jet engine can burp fire, you reached the carbuilder's Valhalla. Meet the Mini Jet, a 650-hp, dual-engined rocket. More »

I'm Gonna Hit The Brakes, And They'll Fly Right By

Sam Smith — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EDT

An Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aims for the moon over a pair of released flares. Let's see what you've got now, Jester. Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Allen/USAF [via Chamorrobible] More »

Phallic Jet Engine Nipple Cone Thing, The U.S. Army Wants To Grope You

Sam Smith — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:30:33 EDT

An American soldier inspects the engine on a plane bound for Afghanistan in March. We cannot stop laughing at this picture, and we cannot explain why. That is all. (Getty Images/AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko) More »

Why Yes, That Is A Turbine-Powered Ford T-Bucket

Sam Smith — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST

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Let's review what's going on here: This is a Model T. It's powered by a Boeing T50/Model 502 gas turbine, the same thing the government once put in helicopters and anti-submarine drones. Now you can buy it on eBay. Gah! More »

Tesla CEO Used Private Jet To Fly To D.C. And Beg For Money

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a fancy private jet to Washington, D.C. and then begged for money. Hmm... seems to us like someone already got yelled at for doing this. Jeez, he's already acting like a soon-to-be-bankrupt automaker. More »

Popular Science Builds Insane Jet Turbine-Powered ATV

Wes Siler — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EDT

60 MPH, 114 dB, 1300 degrees, 150,000 RPM. We probably wouldn't be crazy enough to put a jet turbine in a side-by-side, but we know we definitely wouldn't take it for a test run through Philly. [PopularScience] More »

Caption This: F/A-18 Hornet Flyby Edition

The Auto Insider — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EDT

A Navy F/A-18 Hornet buzzes past GM's Renaissance Center world headquarters last year on its way along the Detroit River to wow the thousands of spectators attending the Red Bull Air Race. More »

2008 Cobra Jet Mustang Brings The Noise At SEMA

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:50:00 EST

In addition to the Raptor pickup, Ford will be unveiling its latest purpose-built drag racer, the 2008 Mustang Cobra Jet. The Cobra Jet, also known as the FR500CJ, is an attempt by the Dearborn, MI-based automaker to expand its offerings of racing pony cars. The Cobra Jet gets a beefed up 5.4-liter V8 with a cold air intake, A/C delete, 9-inch rear end, a six speed manual or three speed auto, a roll hoop and a specialized suspension. While no horsepower figure is given yet, Ford is calling it a car any drag racer can get in and immediately be able to compete with ten second cars. Not too bad for a factory racer, sounds like it'll do the Cobra Jet name justice. Details in the press release below. More »

Jet-Powered Daihatsu Hi-Jet Pickup Up For Bids

Mark Arnold — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:20:00 EDT

The Daihatsu Hi-Jet pickup truck is a neat little runabout for hauling whatever you want in the back...like a jet engine. That's right, it's a Hi-Jet propelled by a Rolls-Royce jet engine. It's even street-legal...so long as you're cruising down the highway under the power of the standard Daihatsu drivetrain, with the turbine off. What's better, it can be yours for just over $10,000, as it's up for sale on Ebay Make the jump to check it out in action. [ebay, jetpower.co.uk] More »

Desert Runs In A Turbine-Powered Datsun 280Z

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EDT

While the turbine-powered Porsche 928 we found on eBay was admittedly pretty neat (and ended up selling for a measly $7,150), the accompanying video didn't really prove the car's kerosene-guzzling potential to us. Not so with this turbine-enhanced Datsun 280Z. This baby proves its mettle with Knight Rider-esque high-speed desert runs. Over and over again. Aside from the repetitive cinematography, we do get a glimpse of some rad digital gauges straight out of the turbo-boost era along with a glorious turbine symphony. Mmmmmm, high RPM goodness. [Youtube] More »

Bell Jet Ranger-Powered Dax Rush

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Jet. Powered. Se7en. The Dax Rush is a pretty well respected kit se7en to begin with, but somebody has gone and built an homage to mad-scientist manliness with a Bell Jet Ranger powered Dax Rush. We're reminded of the Home Improvement episode where our hero straps the same motor into his riding lawnmower to comedic effect and we can only imagine what this thing can do on the street. More »

New York Central's M-497 Jet Powered Train

Ben Wojdyla — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:15:00 EST

We have no idea how this didn't pop up when researching France's Aérotrain but during the 1960's, New York Central was up to its own gee-whiz tricks in the form of the M-497 experimental. Searching for ways to attract passengers in the post-freeway era of dwindling train ridership, Central was investing in several projects, including high speed rail. One of the questions that hung over the prospect was the whether or not the existing rails could handle high speeds. To answer that question, they built a high speed train - on the cheap.
More »

Honda Goldwing Jet Mod Can Fly, Maybe...

Travis Hudson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:45:00 EST

Bugatti Veyron vs. RAF EuroFighter

bwojdyla — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST

Bugatti Veyron - check. Shiny new Eurofighter - check. Empty airstrip - check. Sounds like the wishlist of every nine year old in the world but Top Gear put the Hamster up to the task of doing a down and back drag race against the RAF's finest. This is simply amazing in its audacity. We're not going to spill the beans on the finish, but we think the pilot was holding back a bit. Next up, Caparo T1 v. Saturn V rocket. More »

But Will it Fly? X-Wing Fighter Madness in the Desert

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:55:31 EDT

If you don't have a girlfriend, you know it as the Incom T-65. Else, it's the X-Wing Starfighter, pride of the Rebel Alliance's strike fleet. Here's the backstory. A gang of aerospace hobbyists created a workable model of the X-Wing out of plywood, fiberglassed foam and whatnot. Then they hooked it up with booster rockets and RC gear, and hauled it out the desert, where they proceeded to send it on its maiden voyage. You have no idea how hard it is not to give away the ending. [Gizmodo] More »

Calling All Hoons! Cheap Jet Engine Alert!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT

You've made all sorts of jokes about Impalas with JATO power assist and so on, and maybe you've even jumped a Sprint. But what would you do with a real jet engine for your next project? 5000 frogskins and this fine General Electric J47 can be all yours! The J47 powered the B-47, F-86... and now your car! The seller is pretty stern about the "As Is" part, but it turns over- hell, a few twists of the wrench and it'll probably fire right up! [Craigslist] More »

eBay Find: Sweet Firey Geronimo! Jet Powered Go Kart!

bwojdyla — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:45:00 EST

I'm wondering if you can hear that. That funny noise? Yeah, that's me foaming at the mouth from whatever distance it is from you to Detroit. Are you freakin' SERIOUS? Jet powered go kart?! Phew... Phew.... let me take a little breather here. Okay there, now that the blood is returning to my brain, this little number is pretty slick and I'll tell you why. Any Joe Blow can stretch a go kart body and slap a snazzy engine on it, but it takes an artist to built an engine like this. Everyone knows turbos are really great at adding power to anything that makes your heart skip a beat, but did you also know that turbos can be retooled to act as jet engines? Indeed it's true. If you consider ... More »

Jet MR2 Returns to eBay

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:30:00 EST

A year and a half ago, we noticed an odditiy on eBay: a twin- GE T-58 jet-powered Toyota MR2. At the time, the owner noted that he thought the only thing keeping the car from street legality was noise. We're not sure if this is the same seller or not, but this time around the listing just says "Ready to race!" Interestingly the seller also claims that it's the only twin-engined jet car in the world. Right, because Thrust SSC had like six-hundred forty-three engines. [Thanks to Haller for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson More »

Fire-Breathing Gas Turbine Jet Kart!

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:28:05 EST

From the gas turbine engine in a wicked small car department comes the Jet Kart. This speedy runner sprang from the collective brain trust of Chy Wright and Henry Donald of sunny Yorkshire, England. Seems the fellas saw an advert for this small turbine, originally used to start the full-size engine on a F4 Phantom fighter jet, and thought putting one in a kart was a bang-up idea. The boys proceeded to cook a few turbines in testing before they mounted one of the 60,000 rpm turbine units into the kart and took it out to a runway for some SUPER JET-POWERED AMUSEMENT! The body is specially designed to create downforce and add stability, as the Jet Kart is not at all intended to be a flying car. More »

Richard Hammond's Path of Destruction

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:15:00 EDT

The Times, which has a more highly-staffed graphics department than your lowly Jalops, pieced together a graphic illustrating the Hamster's fateful trip down the runway at Elvington Airfield in the Vampire. From everything we know, Hammond didn't crest 300mph, although the Times claims he was "reaching speeds of up to 300mph." Also of note, the Vampire's Rolls-Royce Orpheus engine consumes 7-10 gallons per mile. That's a fair bit of JP-8. More »

Walt & Art Arfons: Jet Car Pioneers

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:30:00 EDT

For those readers who don't follow the rather esoteric sport of land speed racing beyond Andy Green's speed-of-sound blast or the Beach Boys' ode to Craig Breedlove; who've never gone down to a local dragstrip just to see exhibition runs by jet dragsters after sitting through a bunch of ten-second Sportsman cars, Richard Hammond's accident may have been a bit of a head-scratcher. As in, "What kind of hoon would build such a machine?" More »

Jet-Powered Beetle's Garage Mate: The Jet Scooter

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:37:22 EDT

You remember Ron Patrick, don't you? He's the guy who built the jet-powered New Beetle whose blue-white afterburner flame's graced the pages of countless mags, lo these past several months. He's not done. We'll let Mr. Patrick describe his latest thrusty venture:

Here's my wife's Honda Metropolitan scooter. She wants it to go faster than 40 mph. So I have these two little JFS 100 jet engines and I am thinking how to put them on the scooter. Engines are 50 lbm each so weight is an issue. Will probably use air-start with a carbon fiber tank of compressed air. That saves weight since batteries will then not be needed.

Not Unbeatable? Audi R10 Loses to Harrier Jump-Jet

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:06:15 EDT

It may have a reputation of being unbeatable — having aced the 24 heure du mons this year — but a Harrier jump-jet made quick work of the diesel-powered Audi R10, yesterday. On an RAF base in blighty, Scotsman Allan McNish, piloting the R10, demonstrated the R10 greater thrust off the line, beating the jet to 150 mph. But the stinkbomb couldn't hold its lead; the Harrier arrived at the one-kilometer mark a tenth of a second quicker. Still, it's hella bragging rights for Audi, which may have done more to change diesel's image than "BJ and the Bear." Google it, kids. More »

The Wave of the Future: Jet Propulsion

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 17:30:00 EDT

In an age where everyone's focused on hybrid this and synergy that, it's often helpful in these stifling times of legalese and code-cracking to remember that men once built baffling machines with nothing more than a slide rule, a pocket protector, and a few simple tools. Well step back, children, because we've got something for you that'll make other Go-Ped type devices look paltry by comparision. Strap a couple of pulsejets on a minimalist scooter and make the other kids jealous with envy. Yes, we're geeking over JetZILLA, The Online Magazine of Amateur Jet Propulsion. Immerse yourselves, and then go forth and make crazy shit. More »

Land Speed Record Record...Recorded

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:30:00 EDT

Our historian-of-all-things-freakishly-fast pal Cole Coonce kicked down a link earlier today regarding the reissue of a record of Craig Breedlove's attempt to break the Land Speed Record. To get even more meta((l) circus) with the refs, H sker D 's SST labelmates the Descendents recorded a cover of "Wendy" by the Beach Boys, who of course wrote "Spirit of America" about Breedlove's LSR attempts. Meanwhile, Cole provides an excerpt from his book Infinity Over Zero; a transcript of a recording of Breedlove's famous 500mph run that ended up with the Spirit of America in a pond, made by Jim Economides and USAC timer Jim Petrall from a test-pressing of an unreleased 12" entitled Breedlove 500+. Click through for the '60s-style manliness. "Who do you think you are? Cobb or somebody?" More »

Update: Holy Top Gun, It's The Jet-Powered VW Beetle!

Ray Wert — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 18:52:03 EDT

Now this is our kinda Beetle. In fact, it may be the only time we could ever categorize the Beetle as "cool." It's just too bad it takes a jet engine to get us wanting to drive the round, pod-like and alltogether girly-girl VW Beetle. But yeah, we know we've posted on it before — but this time the San Francisco Chronicle has all the details (plus video!) on 50-year-old Ron Patrick, and how with $250,000 he pimped his ride with a Navy surplus GE T58-8F 1,450 hp jet engine — in fact, the President's chopper Marine One, has two of these things on it. We'll put it to you this way — it idles at 13,000 RPM. Fahrvergn gen that, Volkswagen. (Hat Tip to Mark S.!) More »

Getaway People: The Limo Jet

Mike Spinelli — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:10:45 EST

Chicago limo company Exotic Coach is working on a new, custom limousine based on the fuselage of a retired corporate jet. When it's completed the Limojet will look like the spec image (pictured in similar candy apple red) and accommodate 16-18 ~~snot-nosed prom dweebs~~ passengers. Appointments include DUB-sponsored 30" rims (trubs?), 42" Plasma Screen and four large flat-screen TVs, DVD player, 4,500 Watt Stereo with CD Player and theater Surround Sound and nightclub lights including laser, strobe and a disco ball. It'll also feature realistic jet engine sound effects. More »

Beware, Johan: Jet-Powered Man Becomes Fastest South African

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:43:16 EST

Back when we were the head of our undergrad art/lit publication, somebody always ended up getting a story or poem into the book because he or she happened to be sleeping with one of the staffers during the selection process. The most egregious of these pieces was entitled "Beware Yohar," and we shall reproduce it for you below: More »

North American Eagle Still Set to Break Land Speed Record

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:52:04 EST

They've been poised to do so for nearly a year, now team North American Eagle is nearly, almost, just about ready to make a pass at the world's land speed record. Recent test runs of the team's Lockheed F-104 Starfighter/land vehicle indicate the jet car could top 800 mph when it makes its record attempt later this year. The American-Canadian team hopes to unseat Brit Andy Green, who set the current record of 763 mph in the Thrust SSC in 1997, though word of it didn't reach us until 2002. (Sorry, no more sound-barrier jokes.) More »

Jet-Powered New Beetle

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 09:27:50 EST

Jeez, this makes us sad we missed the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona a few weeks back. Take one New Beetle, add one jet engine complete with afterburner, drive it from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles, win prize, burn down beer stand with afterburner upon close of festivities. Although our jet-engined VW of choice would definitely be a Thing. [Thanks to Ron for the heads up.] More »

Prop-Driven Car Draws Flames

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 15:38:04 EST

Here's a link that combines pics of a cleverly designed, prop-driven land speeder with a running message board flame session between the car's builder and some resident instigators (kind of a two-for-one). According to the car's builder, Franklin Ratliff, the project took nine years and approximately $17,000, along with help from experts like rocket bike builder Avril Porter, jet dragster expert Wayne Knuth, motorsports engineer Kurt Damron and chassis maven Tim Takash. It's gone between 50 and 60 mph during private (i.e., unsanctioned) on-road tests. It's constructed from a chromemoly tubing spaceframe embedded inside a foamcore fiberglass sandwich composite that, according to the builder, serves as part of the structure. As for the flameouts, they're not quite as clever. [Thanks to Scott for the tip.] More »

Build Your Own Buzz-Bomb Dragster!

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 15:35:44 EST

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Brandon, for tipping us off to such a completely insane-o site. Generally, when people think about pulsejets, if they think of them at all, it tends to be in context of the world's first cruise missile the WWII German V-1. But there's a man in New Zealand who's apparently obsessed with the things. He's got a pulsejet-powered go-kart, and now the loon's gone and built hisself a 180-lb dragster powered by two of the buzzy beasts. What's more, he'll even teach you how to build your own no-welding-required engine. Screw rebuilding our moped's two-stroke we're just strappin' one of these things to it. The sound's close enough, anyway. More »

Hoon of the Day: Swiss Rocketman

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:51:21 EST

Maybe not a Hoon in the strictest sense, but definitely one in the broader Jalopnik sense, the Swiss Rocketman is truly a Swiss man unafraid. Literally rocketing down a stretch of tarmac — on a bicycle fueled by more hydrogen peroxide than the members of Poison applied through the entire 1990s — Genevois Alec Beney hit nearly 150mph back in 1999. The clip is old, but true hoonage knows no age. (Send 'em to tips@jalopnik.com.)[Thanks to Steve for the tip.] More »

The Air Force Reserve's "Above and Beyond" Jet Car

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 11:05:46 EDT

Wherever it stops during its promotional show tours around the US, the Air Force Reserve's 26-foot-long race car usually competes with an aircraft. Of course, the car, simply a chrome-moly chassis with an aluminum skin, and a Westinghouse J-34 jet engine strapped on, has an unfair advantage in the acceleration department. The Reserve's Above & Beyond Jet Car creates mini sonic booms as it approaches 400mph, literally guzzling 40 gallons of diesel fuel in its 1800-foot showcase runs. The engine, borrowed from a T-2A Buckeye jet, provides 10,000 horsepower and about 6,000 pounds of thrust. During accleration, pilot Scott Hammack is treated to 4.5 positive Gs, then another 11 negative Gs during braking. Jeez. [Thanks to RF for the tip.] More »

The Glory Days of the Turbine

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 15:32:56 EDT

Carrying on with the turbine-powered theme established below, let's pop on into the TARDIS and see some history. While the late Don Vesco's Turbinator holds the land speed record for a wheel-driven vehicle, turbine-powered cars aren't often thought of much by the general motoring public (other than the mysterious engineers behind the black-ops Project 1221). There was a time when this wasn't the case. From Chrysler's Ghia-bodied Turbine Car experiment to Andy Granatelli's oddball 4WD 1967 Indy entry, turbines were a big deal back in the 1960s. One of the craziest racing machines built was the Howmet TX, a prototype sports racer that actually managed to win some races back in 1968. The article below, much like Clarissa or Fang Huang, explains it all. More »

Jet-Powered Toyota MR2 for Sale on eBay

Mike Spinelli — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 14:08:27 EDT

Remember back when GE's advertising mission was to "bring good things to life"? We wonder what ol' "Neutron" Jack Welch would think about GE's T58-3 jet turbines being used for such "good things" as an ATV and this Toyota MR2, now for sale on eBay. A novel air dam keeps air pressure heading downward at speeds of over 140 on this modified 1991 — modified to go nearly 200mph, if the current owner's calculations are correct. "I think its street legal except for this little excessive noise issue," he says matter of factly. I'm sorry, officer, can you speak up? [Thanks to Adam for the tip.] More »