The Rover JET1 was a

gas turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...

car originally built in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

in 1949/1950 by the

Rover Company The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company originally founded in 1878, beginning car manufacturing in 1904. It primarily operated from its base in Solihull, Warwickshire. Rover also manufactured the Land Rover series from ...

, 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 is a cup donated in the early years of the twentieth century by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, MP, to be awarded each year by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) of the United Kingdom "to the motor car which should successfully complete the m ...

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. The ...

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

References

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

See also

References