Electric Delorean & Turbine Engines

[knightjp]

I just saw the video of the new Jaguar CX-75. Awesome machine.
I was wondering if DMC was planning to bring out the Delorean EV, if they ever thought of the microturbines used in the Jag...

Another engine that has been getting my attention this whole week is the Chrysler Turbine.
I know its old and probably outdated, but makes me wonder... If Chrysler had gotten the funding to keep developing the concept, they'd be the leaders in terms of green tech, 'cuz the turbine was more quite fuel efficient for the engines of the time and didn't require that much of maintenance since it had very few moving parts.

[tyb323]

Y u no like PRV?

[dvonk]

until reading this post, i was unaware of the existence of both the Jaguar C-X75 or the Chrysler Turbine Car project. very interesting; its one of those 'what if...' situations that never came to fruition.

another i always think about: where would electric cars be by now if they had kept up with them at the turn of the century?

perhaps Jaguar's initiative will influence the future of automobiles...

[Rich W]

One of the projects on my list is an Electric DeLorean
powered by an onboard turbine APU. The APU turbine
can run on a variety of fuel types, while the electric
motor will provide quick power and torque.

Unfortunately, most APU's run a cast iron block, which
will be a weight disadvantage, but there is no doubt
the turbine engine "whine" really sounds cool. Also, the
hot turbine exhaust can be difficult to route safely.

I looked into running an Allison A-250 or similar turbine
engine by itself, but there just is not enough HP to run
a stock DeLorean much quicker than stock speeds and
initial accelleration may be lacking as well.

Turbine maintenance, over time, can be very expensive
and regular oil changes (turbine synthetic is required)
is absoluely required after xxx operating hours, else
you risk damaging the turbine parts in the engine.

Anothe thng to keep in mind is to install a safety
shield of carbon fiber to protect the car and people
inside in case the turbine fails catastrophically, with
turbine shaft speeds in excess of 12,000 RPM's.

[delornut]

I just saw the video of the new Jaguar CX-75. Awesome machine.
I was wondering if DMC was planning to bring out the Delorean EV, if they ever thought of the microturbines used in the Jag...

Another engine that has been getting my attention this whole week is the Chrysler Turbine.
I know its old and probably outdated, but makes me wonder... If Chrysler had gotten the funding to keep developing the concept, they'd be the leaders in terms of green tech, 'cuz the turbine was more quite fuel efficient for the engines of the time and didn't require that much of maintenance since it had very few moving parts.

The Chrysler turbine project was an ongoing thing during the '60s. It culminated with a small fleet of turbine cars loaned to the public for a specific period of time in various cities. I attended a demonstration of it back then. The engineer doing the demo put vodka, perfume, and anything else combustable that he could find of into the fuel tank. The biggest problem was the amount of heat pouring out of the exhaust. They had a problem of melting asphalt while idling at stop lights. Most of that fleet was destroyed but I think Jay Leno owns one and I belive a couple of the engines made into private hands as well. While attending one of the car shows Dennis Gauge used to do in in his home town of Evansville, Indiana I listened to a guy who owned one the turbines from that project. He talked about Jay Leno's turbine and how they shared info on them.

Bruce Benson

[DMCMW Dave]

Most of that fleet was destroyed but I think Jay Leno owns one and I belive a couple of the engines made into private hands as well.

Bruce Benson

There is one in the Gilmore museum in Michigan.

I, like Bruce, recall the PR at the time they were being tested but I don't recall fuel economy being a strong point. Just that it could burn just about anything.

[ssdelorean]

There is one in the Gilmore museum in Michigan.

Speaking of -
If you want to see it in person we are planning another visit to the Gilmore for next year. Keep an eye out here as details become available.

[dmcerik]

Speaking of -
If you want to see it in person we are planning another visit to the Gilmore for next year. Keep an eye out here as details become available.

Excellent. I'll come out of Delorean group meeting hibernation for this one!

[dustybarn]

There is also one in the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. A beautiful, fascinating car.

As I recall, the Chrysler turbine engine was pretty sophisticated, with twin regenerator drums for waste heat recovery, and its fuel economy was still poor, even then. NOx emissions are always going to be a problem for a turbine, like they are for diesels (I worked on a gas turbine/electric hybrid vehicle project in the mid-90's and we wrestled with the same problems).

A car with an Allison 250 would be a lot of fun (300+ horsepower, light weight, and a congenial torque curve, thanks to the free power turbine) but I'm not sure the engine would fit in the back of a D, at about 4' in length. Maybe if you didn't mind it sticking out of the top like Mr. Fusion...