In 1967, legendary racing driver Parnelli Jones was positively dominating the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. With 196 of 200 whole laps accomplished and Jones forward by almost a full lap, victory appeared virtually inevitable till catastrophe struck. Of all issues, a $6 ball bearing within the automotive’s transmission failed, forcing the driving force to coast into the pits. Though the automotive was repaired as rapidly as doable, it was too late — Parnelli completed the race in sixth place.
That recount is fascinating sufficient by itself, however what’s really exceptional was Parnelli’s journey. It was the primary turbine-powered automotive to ever run the Indy 500. The brainchild of Andy Granatelli, then-CEO of lubricant big STP, the Paxton Turbocar was propelled by a Pratt & Whitney ST6B-2 turbine of the sort that may be sometimes present in a small plane, coupled to a four-wheel drive system from Ferguson Research.
The Turbocar’s great efficiency within the 1967 race proved past a doubt that turbine-powered race vehicles have been worthy of additional exploration, which is strictly what Granatelli got down to do forward of the 1968 occasion on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, nicknamed the Brickyard. This time, he would seek the advice of with Colin Chapman’s Lotus Cars in England, an innovator who had turned the hallowed race the other way up a number of years earlier by successful with a then-revolutionary rear-engined automotive.
[Featured image by Andrew Basterfield via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0]
Another spectacular displaying marred by technical difficulties
The product of the Granatelli/Lotus collaboration was the Lotus 56, the first-ever turbine-powered Lotus automotive. Like the automotive pushed by Parnelli Jones one yr earlier, the 56 would additionally reap the benefits of four-wheel drive’s further traction to harness the turbine’s energy, this time a barely totally different STN 6/76 from Pratt & Whitney that generated roughly 500 horsepower. However, that is the place the similarities ended.
Chapman’s infatuation with weight and aerodynamics resulted in a distinct format for the 56, with the engine behind the driving force — versus alongside within the earlier Paxton Turbocar — and a radically slim, doorstop-like wedge form.
For the 1968 Indy 500, Granatelli and Lotus determined to marketing campaign not one, however 4 of the Lotus 56s. During observe periods, one of many vehicles piloted by Mike Spence set a brand new observe report of 169.555 mph, so the crew knew that it had a formidable contender on its arms. Later within the day, Spence took the wheel of a distinct Lotus 56 which seemed to be underperforming. Unfortunately, Spence was concerned in a crash throughout his troubleshooting take a look at laps in that second automotive, one which he did not survive.
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The expertise was finally banned
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Despite the devastating lack of Spence, the crew continued with the three remaining turbine vehicles, setting further data throughout qualifying. The quickest Lotus 56 turned a lap at 171.953 mph, almost three mph quicker than the quickest piston-engined automotive thus far.
In the precise 1968 race, the lead modified arms a number of instances till lap 175, when a Lotus 56 pushed by Joe Leonard gained the lead and stayed there till lap 192. Suddenly, an aggressive bout of acceleration on Leonard’s half brought about the turbine engine to fail simply eight laps in need of the end line. The downside was later recognized to be a gas supply difficulty, which allowed a piston-engined automotive pushed by Bobby Unser to win.
For the 1969 Indy 500, Andy Granatelli and his STP crew returned with a extra standard racer powered by a Ford V8 and ended up successful — a primary for Granatelli in 23 years of making an attempt. Lotus continued to marketing campaign a modified model of the 56, known as the 56B (above), in a handful of Formula 1 races with solely average success. Later, the governing physique for open-wheel race vehicles outlawed not solely turbine-powered vehicles however four-wheel drive vehicles as properly, placing an finish to any additional improvement.
…. to be continued
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