TURBINE CAR ENGINES

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28013, 6 July 1956, Page 12

TURBINE CAR ENGINES

ENGLISH AND U.S. RESEARCH

The race to produce commercial turbine cars is gaining increased momentum, and once a company in either the United States or England produces such a car in numbers, other makes will appear with great rapidity according to Mr R. J. Hancock, technical service engineer of the Rover Motor Company, who arrived in Christchurch yesterday. The Rover company was the first firm to manufacture a turbine car.

“In England, the United States, and on the Continent, motor companies have separate divisions solely engaged on the perfection of a cheap turbine engine suitable for fitting to a car,” said Mr Hancock. “My company formed a special gas turbine division last year, and stationary turbines are now being produced. “At the moment, each company is seeking to overcome the high production costs. The blades for the car turbine, unlike the aero jet engine, have to be manufactured by hand from high-tensile steel. The cost is fantastic.”

Most of the English companies had research divisions experimenting with turbines, but little information leaked out, said Mr Hancock. The companies had found they had come to the limit of output from petrol engines, and realised they had to look to the future.