1978 Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette “Granatelli’s Jet Vette”
The January 2011 issue of VETTE Magazine is out (I know, I know, it’s only the beginning of November) and in my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 163 column I have covered the one and only, 1978 jet turbine-powered Corvette. The world’s ONLY jet-Vette is alive and well in an undisclosed location in Ohio. This is a story of unbridled imagination. Enjoy! – Scott
Detroit in the 50s and ‘60s was a time of “let’s try it” thinking. GM tinkered with the turbine-engine Firebird I, II, and III cars in the ‘50s. Chrysler had been making turboprop engines since before WW II and started their turbine car program in ‘54. Turbine-powered race cars showed up at the Indy 500 in ‘62 and ‘66, with little success. But it was the red STP-sponsored, Andy Granatelli car that stunned everyone in ‘67. By the end of the second turn of the first lap, Parnelli Jones took the lead until rain stopped the race. The next day, Jones picked up where he’s left off, leaving everyone far behind, until lap 197 when a $5 transmission ball bearing broke, putting the car out of the race. Granatelli was back the following year, but restrictions placed on his Lotus-built turbine car ended the Indy 500 turbine experience forever. Continue reading “The World’s Only Jet Turbine-Powered Corvette!!!”
