Bonneville Salt Flats - 500 MPH wheel driven car video (take a ride on board)

Grumpy Old Man · 11-18-2018, 03:55 PM

We bring this up because Team Vesco – owned and designed by Rick Vesco in honour of his late brother, Don – is looking to make that 500-mph (805-km/h) run official, and has released on-board footage of the TURBINATOR II at full chat. As you’d expect, it’s utterly terrifying.

Spangler himself, to fit around the contours of the incredibly tight bodywork, is essentially lying down in the cockpit, with only a cigarette paper capable of squeezing between his helmet and the bulkhead. To make the 4,950-lb TURBINATOR II as slippery as possible, the front wheels, centre-to-centre, are just 17 inches apart, while the rears are even closer at 12 inches.

Power comes from the T55-L-712 Shaft Gas Turbine of a Chinook helicopter, which delivers a whopping 5,000 hp (up from its previously insane 3,750 hp). However, unlike other land-speed-record mullers, where thrust is delivered directly from its jet engine, said power is sent directly to all four Mickey Thompson-clad wheels instead.

Just think about that for a second: the top speed of a Bugatti Veyron, when it first arrived, was limited not by the capabilities of its engine but the fact that its tires would explode.

The 36-ft long 21-ft wheelbase TURBINATOR II, meanwhile – essentially an aeroplane without wings – is capable of well over 150 km/h more than that, carries more weight, and doesn’t drive on asphalt. The logistics, plus the myriad possibilities of something going wrong, are staggering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=9C50bYtvof0

///M Power-Belgium · 11-18-2018, 04:42 PM

.

SakhirM4 · 11-18-2018, 04:51 PM

I have been 500mph many, many times, but NEVER that low

///M Power-Belgium · 11-18-2018, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SakhirM4

I have been 500mph many, many times, but NEVER that low

Sir , that's why you have my respect !

chenry · 11-18-2018, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Sir , that's why you have my respect !

this

eluded · 11-19-2018, 02:13 AM

Vid not working

roastbeef · 11-19-2018, 02:34 AM

i wonder what the budget is on these things.

Efthreeoh · 11-19-2018, 07:13 AM

I wonder if this fits in a class by itself; gas turbine-driven wheels.

N420i · 11-19-2018, 07:21 AM

Whoa watching that thing pull half a G of acceleration at 400mph is just surreal.

///M Power-Belgium · 11-19-2018, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eluded

Vid not working

Here it works perfect..

eluded · 11-21-2018, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Quote:

Originally Posted by eluded

Vid not working

Here it works perfect..

Americanaut · 11-21-2018, 03:04 AM

Very fascinating, thanks for sharing!

I had the chance to see Team Vesco's 444 streamliner run in 2012 in Bonneville, what an awesome experience that was.

I think a visit to races on the Bonneville salt flats should be on every gearhead's bucket list

I will never forget my trip out there.

11-18-2018, 03:55 PM	#1
Grumpy Old Man Lieutenant Colonel 6467 Rep 1,966 Posts Drives: Porsche 993, 2015 MB GLK Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Niagara on the Lake iTrader: (0)	Bonneville Salt Flats - 500 MPH wheel driven car video (take a ride on board) We bring this up because Team Vesco – owned and designed by Rick Vesco in honour of his late brother, Don – is looking to make that 500-mph (805-km/h) run official, and has released on-board footage of the TURBINATOR II at full chat. As you’d expect, it’s utterly terrifying. Spangler himself, to fit around the contours of the incredibly tight bodywork, is essentially lying down in the cockpit, with only a cigarette paper capable of squeezing between his helmet and the bulkhead. To make the 4,950-lb TURBINATOR II as slippery as possible, the front wheels, centre-to-centre, are just 17 inches apart, while the rears are even closer at 12 inches. Power comes from the T55-L-712 Shaft Gas Turbine of a Chinook helicopter, which delivers a whopping 5,000 hp (up from its previously insane 3,750 hp). However, unlike other land-speed-record mullers, where thrust is delivered directly from its jet engine, said power is sent directly to all four Mickey Thompson-clad wheels instead. Just think about that for a second: the top speed of a Bugatti Veyron, when it first arrived, was limited not by the capabilities of its engine but the fact that its tires would explode. The 36-ft long 21-ft wheelbase TURBINATOR II, meanwhile – essentially an aeroplane without wings – is capable of well over 150 km/h more than that, carries more weight, and doesn’t drive on asphalt. The logistics, plus the myriad possibilities of something going wrong, are staggering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=9C50bYtvof0
	Appreciate 2 ///M Power-Belgium70755.50 SakhirM410803.50 Tweet Quote

11-18-2018, 04:42 PM	#2
///M Power-Belgium General 70756 Rep 26,654 Posts Drives: ///M3-E92-DCT Silverstone II Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Belgium iTrader: (0)	. __________________ "MAX VERSTAPPEN" IS THE 2021+2022+2023 F1 WORLD CHAMPION - #UnLeashTheLion BPM DEV-Tune & DCT Software-Tune & Servotronic & coding ///Alpine HID Angeleyes ///Oem.exhaust mod.
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11-18-2018, 04:51 PM	#3
SakhirM4 Major General 10804 Rep 8,852 Posts Drives: '15 SO M4/'20 Z4 M40i Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 BMW Z4 M40i [10.00] 2015 BMW M4 [8.76]	I have been 500mph many, many times, but NEVER that low __________________ Tejas Chapter, BMW CCA, mem #23915, President 27 years, www.tejaschapter.org
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11-19-2018, 02:13 AM	#6
eluded 2JZ-GTE 3168 Rep 4,142 Posts Drives: 340 6MT, 50e, others Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Sofia iTrader: (0)	Vid not working __________________ A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
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11-19-2018, 02:34 AM	#7
roastbeef Lieutenant General 11707 Rep 12,801 Posts Drives: E92 M3 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Orange County, CA iTrader: (4)	i wonder what the budget is on these things. __________________ Instagram; @roastbeefmike
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11-19-2018, 07:13 AM	#8
Efthreeoh General 19141 Rep 19,707 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	I wonder if this fits in a class by itself; gas turbine-driven wheels. __________________ A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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11-19-2018, 07:21 AM	#9
N420i Private First Class 71 Rep 192 Posts Drives: 2016 420i lightly modded Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Madrid iTrader: (0)	Whoa watching that thing pull half a G of acceleration at 400mph is just surreal.
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11-21-2018, 03:04 AM	#12
Americanaut New Member 0 Rep 5 Posts Drives: BMW 320d xDrive M-Sport Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Switzerland iTrader: (0)	Very fascinating, thanks for sharing! I had the chance to see Team Vesco's 444 streamliner run in 2012 in Bonneville, what an awesome experience that was. I think a visit to races on the Bonneville salt flats should be on every gearhead's bucket list I will never forget my trip out there.
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