The STP-Paxton Turbocar was an American
racing car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...
, designed by Ken Wallis as the
STP entry in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
.
Parnelli Jones
Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones (August 12, 1933 – June 4, 2024) was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and ...
drove it in the 1967 event. After leading for much of the race, a transmission failure with only eight miles left ended the run. It crashed during qualification for the 1968 race; the damage was not fixed and the car ended its career.
History
Ken Wallis, a distant relative of
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack ...
, had developed a workable plan for harnessing a gas turbine to a race car. He first presented the idea to
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...
, who passed on the idea. Wallis then offered the plan to
Carroll Shelby and Shelby said (according to later court testimony), "Hogwash." Finally,
Andy Granatelli of STP expressed interest in the concept. Wallis and his crew moved in with Andy's brother Joe at STP's Paxton division in Santa Monica, and they began work on the turbocar in January 1966. It was Granatelli who introduced a side-by-side concept — that is, putting the mid-mounted (relative to the wheelbase) engine at the driver's left (a similar idea, with the driver in an offset gondola on the left, had been used by
Smokey Yunick several years earlier). Granatelli also added four-wheel drive to the design.
['I've Got the Car Right Here'](_blank)
Retrieved 27 June 2011
The aluminum frame of the car was badly warped during heat treating in early 1966, eliminating any possibility of the car racing in the 1966 Indianapolis 500. Work started over again and the car was ready for the 1967 Indianapolis 500.
Parnelli Jones
Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones (August 12, 1933 – June 4, 2024) was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and ...
drove the car during tire testing in Phoenix early that year and was impressed with the car. He agreed to drive the car in the Indianapolis 500 after being offered $100,000 cash in a briefcase and half of any prize money he won.
Jones qualified the car at Indianapolis in sixth place at . At the start of the race, he quickly took the lead and rarely relinquished it. However, with just left to go, he coasted into the pits with a transmission bearing failure.
['The Big Engine That Almost Did'](_blank)
Popular Mechanics August 1967. Retrieved 27 June 2011 The car was refurbished and entered by STP in the 1968 Indianapolis 500. Driven by Joe Leonard, the car crashed into the turn four wall during practice and never raced again.
The car was originally donated to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
's
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
by the STP Corporation. There is an exact replica built from blueprints in the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Curiously, rather than model this car
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
chose to make a model of the similar "Shelby Turbine" which practiced at Indianapolis in 1968 as one of the popular
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is an American media franchise and brand of scale model model car, cars invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company Mattel on May 18, 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox (brand), Matchbox until Mattel bought ...
toy cars. The
Lotus 56 used a modified version of the same engine and
four-wheel drive
A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
in a more advanced wedge-shaped body with new USAC intake restrictions, but one car crashed in turn one during practice killing driver Mike Spence and the three entered into the race did not finish either; subsequently USAC banned turbines and four-wheel drive cars entirely.
Design
The STP-Paxton Turbocar was built around an aluminum box-shaped backbone. The driver was seated on the right side of the backbone, while the engine, a
Pratt & Whitney Canada ST6B-62 turbine engine, was mounted on the left side of the backbone. Though never successful as an automobile powerplant, the small aircraft engine it was based on would become one of the most popular turboprop aircraft engines in history. The engine drove a Ferguson four-wheel drive system, which transmitted the power to the wheels. A torque converter eliminated the need for a clutch pedal and gearshift. The engine idled at 54% of full throttle, which meant that the driver didn't even have to press the accelerator pedal to pull away; all he had to do was ease his foot off the brake pedal. A movable panel was mounted behind the cockpit, which acted as an airbrake. The suspension's coil springs were located inside the backbone and the suspension A-frames had airfoil cross-sections. The car weighed , compared to the Indy minimum weight of .
USAC had limited the engine intake area to to limit the turbine's power output, but the engine still produced 550 hp. However, drivers reported that it had a three-second throttle lag. In less than a month after the 1967 Indianapolis 500, USAC cut the allowable turbine air intake area from 23.999 to and imposed the ruling immediately, although it had been customary to give two years' notice of engine changes.
With the reduced inlet area, the maximum lap speed that could be achieved was .
Later history
Television comedian
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...
once drove the Turbine at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...
during a private test session.
The cowling for the car was misplaced for over 20 years. It was found in 2007 in an office at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
.
Wallis went on to design a similar car for
Carroll Shelby, who entered two cars for the
1968 Indianapolis 500
The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indy 500 victories (1968, 1975, 1981). This was the final Indianapolis ...
, intending them to be driven by New Zealanders
Denny Hulme and
Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
. However, the cars were withdrawn following
Mike Spence's fatal crash while practicing in a
Lotus 56, another turbine car. Shelby claimed he withdrew the cars for safety reasons, but they were actually withdrawn because changes in the Indianapolis 500 regulations had limited the ability of turbine-powered cars. Hulme competed in the race driving a car powered by a
Ford Indy V8 engine, while McLaren failed to qualify.
The car on exhibit in the Speedway Museum is an exact replica of the actual car, which car owner STP Corporation donated to the Smithsonian Institution, built from the blueprints.
References
See also
*
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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:STP-Paxton Turbocar
Indianapolis 500
American Championship racing cars
Cars powered by gas turbines
Controversial racing cars