The Rover JET1 was a

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

car originally built in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

in 1949/1950 by the Rover Company, and modified to a more aerodynamic style in 1952. It held a world speed record for a gas turbine-powered car in 1952 with a speed of 152.691 mph. Rover won the

Dewar Trophy The Dewar Trophy was a cup donated in the early years of the twentieth century by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, M.P. a member of parliament of the United Kingdom (UK), to be awarded each year by the Royal Automobile Club (R. A .C.) of the United Kingdom "t ...

in 1950 for this work, in recognition of its outstanding pioneering achievement.

'The Dewar Trophy - Past Winners It was the first time this trophy had been awarded since 1929. In March 1950, Rover showed the JET1 prototype, the first car powered with a

engine, to the public. JET1, an open two-seat

tourer Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

, had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car, and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached a top speed of . After being shown in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1950, JET1 was further developed, and was subjected to speed trials on the

Jabbeke Jabbeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Jabbeke proper, Snellegem, Stalhille, Varsenare and Zerkegem. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 13,572 inhabitants. The ...

highway in Belgium in June 1952, where it exceeded . JET1 is currently on display at the

London Science Museum The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...

References

* {{Gas turbine vehicles Cars powered by gas turbines Rover vehicles

See also

References