General Motors Firebird I (XP-21) concept (1953)
Concept car · 1953 · Combustion
America's first gas-turbine car: a jet fighter on wheels.
The Firebird I was the first gas-turbine-powered car tested in the United States, styled by Harley Earl's team as a single-seat, fiberglass, bullet-shaped fuselage with short wings and a tailfin. Its Whirlfire GT-302 turbine produced 370 hp with the gasifier turbine spinning to 26,000 rpm. More a jet airplane than a car, it demonstrated GM's postwar turbine ambitions.
Key facts
- Designer: Harley Earl (GM)
- Engine: Whirlfire GT-302 gas turbine, ~370 hp
- Layout: Single-seat fiberglass bullet, bubble canopy
- Weight: ~2,500 lb (1,134 kg)
- Status: First U.S. gas-turbine car; GM Heritage Collection
Production
- Status: Concept only
- 1953 gas-turbine jet-styled experimental show car, never produced.
- Revealed at 1953/54 GM Motorama
Source: Wikipedia