Howmet TX
The Howmet TX ( turbine eXperimental ) was the prototype of an American racing car which was designed in 1968 to examine the competitiveness of gas- turbine-powered vehicles in sportscar racing. The planned from racers Ray Heppenstall combined a car built by McKee Engineering chassis with a leased Continental Aviation & Engineering Gas Turbine. Financially, the project of Howmet Castings was born.
Although the Howmet TX was not the first attempt to use a gas turbine in automotive racing, he was the first and only car, which has also won a race, namely two victories in races of the Sports Car Club of America ( SCCA ) and two qualifications in the one year he was reported in competitions .. the TX presented later six FIA land speed records for gas turbine car on, after he had been withdrawn from the race
- 2.1 Land Speed Records
- 2.2 Later use
Development
The interest in the use of gas turbines instead of reciprocating engines in the automotive industry rose in the 1960s. Chrysler began with the attempts in the 1950s, and established his Turbine Car 1963 test available to customers during the British car manufacturer Rover and the BRM racing team together a race car for the 24- hour race at Le Mans in 1963 and 1965 built. Both cars were reliable, but have won no victories at Le Mans and not convince the public. 1967, the racing team owner and automobile developer Andy Granatelli a gas turbine-powered Roadster for Indianapolis 500 developed, which would have almost won the race Parnelli Jones as a driver, but left after taking the lead over 2/3 of the race with mechanical problems. A similar experiment in 1968 with a Lotus 56 led despite considerable victory also potential for failure.
At the same time, to the garnet Ellis Turbo cars in Indianapolis made its first appearance, race driver Ray Heppenstall began to develop the design for his own sports car, taking that of the Rover BRM improved in some respects in which this some years previously had been found to be unsuitable. Heppenstall thought that a simpler design of the suspension a turbine -powered car might be made more competitive. Heppenstall originally tried to win the Allison Engine Company and later Williams International for his project. Then he turned to his racing colleagues Tom Fleming with a request for support. Fleming was supplied vice president of Howmet Castings, a company that turbine housing to the aircraft industry at the time. Heppenstall and Fleming managed to convince Howmet that support for a unique, competitive sports car could increase the awareness of the company in public. Howmet agreed to support the project financially and to give the car its name.
Landing gear
Heppenstall began the project by purchasing a Cooper Monaco, but decided later that this is not the first choice for the installation of a turbine would be, and so we sold the car back. Bob McKee, owner of McKee Engineering, was then commissioned by Heppenstall to build two completely new car. The first space-frame chassis was taken from an older McKee car, which had been built in 1966 for the CanAm series, and adapted for the installation of a turbine. The second car was completely rebuilt, so he could be specially designed for the intended use of the turbine, and had a longer by 57 mm chassis. The trolleys were called at McKee " Mark 9 ," were in the race but only together with the turbine as Howmet TX used.
The Mark 9 was 6 tailored to the requirements of the FIA group for sports car prototype, so a mid-engine design was constructed in an otherwise completely free chassis that was only limited by the fixing of the motor, respectively. The closed cockpit with double doors was designed by Bob McKee and disguised the mid-engine chassis with a conventional double wishbone suspension with coil springs and disc brakes on all wheels. A fuel tank with 120 l capacity was installed between the cockpit and turbine and filled with Jet -A fuel.
Turbine
The turbines for the two Howmet TX leased by Continental Aviation & Engineerin. The TS325 -1 gas turbines were prototypes of a tender application from the company for a military helicopter, for Continental at that time had just no other use. The turbines weighed 77 kg, contributed 325 bhp (239 kW) and issued a torque of 850 Nm. The maximum speed was 57,000 min-1
A torque converter and a speed reduction gear of the rear wheels are driven Howmet TX. Due to the wide usable engine speed range of the turbine, a conventional gear was not required, so the cars had only a single reduction. The reduction ratio in the differential gear but could be changed rapidly so that the cars could be adapted to different race courses. So there was no reverse gear. Heppenstall initially wanted to do entirely without reverse gear, but the FIA insisted on a small, a generator driven by the turbine electric motor, with which the car could be reset.
The turbine itself had two large exhaust pipes sticking out of the back of the car up. A smaller third tube for a wastegate was installed outside the center. The wastegate served to reduce the time lag between pressing the accelerator pedal and the high rotation of the turbine. At maximum speed the wastegate regulated the fuel supply, so that the turbine gave more or less power.
Although the turbine engine capacity is not how to measure with reciprocating machines, put the FIA on a formula and put the " Displacement " of Continental TS35 -1 to 2,960 cm ³ fixed. Heppenstall has but later indicated that the engine actually exceeded the 3-liter limit. So could drive up to 3,000 cc of Group 6 of the Howmet TX in the prototype category.
Racing history
Once completed, the two Howmet TX was the 24- hour race at Daytona, the opening race of the World Sportscar Championship in 1968 reported. Even before the start of the TX could draw the audience interest because he was pictured prominently on the cover of the racing program. Although both cars were available, only the younger was used in the race; the other is kept in reserve. Heppe Stalls racing team, Dick Thompson and Ed Lowther could qualify with the seventh- fastest lap of the race. Many competitors had to leave to refuel, so that the Howmet TX was able to improve on the third place, but on lap 34 the wastegate did not open, so the car was too fast for the curve. So hurled the car and crashed into a track barrier, so the team had to give up.
The 12- hour race at Sebring a few months later, the TX has improved and managed to qualify in third place after a Porsche 907 and a Ford GT40. First, the turbine was running fine, but for the race start they damaged debris, so that they broke away from its mounting. Thus, the TX had to give up after six hours once again. After the Sebring sports car world championship returned to Europe and the Howmet team moved. The car was reported at Brands Hatch at the BOAC 500. Problems with the wastegate again led to an accident, this time after only seven laps. The Howmet team remained in the UK and reported the car in a sprint race at Oulton Park with the British rider Hugh Dibley. Here, the starter failed after a pit stop and the TX could in turn do not finish the hour-long race.
Rather than stay for the remaining races of the sports car world championship in Europe, they sought the TX in the USA to participate in the SCCA National Championship back. Near the home were probably easier to deal with the problems, since the car was his first race, the Vander graft Trophy in New Cumberland ( West Virginia), quit. Heppenstall took the car to second place and set a new lap record. In a race in Michigan the Howmet TX failed again, but could the race, " Heart of Dixie" in Huntsville (Alabama ) finish. A short sprint race was the day before the main race to determine the starting grid. The Howmet TX won the sprint race, so he could start from pole position in the feature race. So the TX could enter a start - to-finish victory. These two victories were the first victories that had ever achieved a turbine -powered cars in a competition.
After this first victory for the Howmet TX Heppenstall and Dick Thompson were again together in the Marlboro 300. Again, the car won the short qualifying race for pole position and then the main event with a distance of 11 laps for second place. The team stopped the car now ripe to win European race and reported both TX at 6- hour race at Watkins Glen, a further round of the World Sports Car Championship. Hugh Dibley and newcomer Bob Tullius were used in the first car, while Hoppe stable and Thompson drove the second. In qualifying the car won the 8th and 9th on the grid. After early accidents of the factory Porsche the Howmet TX took third and fourth place overall. The carriage of Dibley and Tullius had to fight in the last hour of the race with a gearbox problem, so the car until the end of the race could only crawl around the track. The other car ran without problems and finished the race on the podium as a winner in its class. This place meant four points for Howmet in the World Sportscar Championship.
After the success at Watkins Glen, the car seemed ripe for an attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which had been relocated this year to September. The French aluminum producer Pechiney sponsored the commitment of the team in this race. The same drivers were used as in Watkins Glen, but the qualifying result at the Circuit Bugatti was worse because of the long straights. The twentieth place in qualifying was the best result of both cars.
In the race itself appeared early mechanical problems at Thompson's car after three rounds. The fuel system is not injected enough a Jet -A fuel, allowing the engine to achieve its maximum performance, so the car had to haul more bad than good on the long straights. During drove a car into a slower pace around the course, suffered the other two hours later a fraction of a wheel suspension, which required a three- hour-long repair. In the sixth hour, the car was disqualified from the race management, as he had only managed a poor race distance of 60 laps. Also the other car, which still suffered from insufficient fuel delivery, did not make it much longer, as Thompson in the Indianapolis curve had an accident with the car overturned and destroyed him.
After the 1968 season Heppenstall planned for the following year. Even a multi-stage transmission in place of the one-stage speed reduction should be developed. But Howmet decided that the car was not enough publicity for the company made and finished the program.
Land speed records
Howmet decided in 1969 that the two cars, although the racing program was too expensive, could still be used in advertising. Heppenstall decided to repair the destroyed in Le Mans last year chassis. The car was fundamentally changed and received an open cockpit. He was then referred to as Howmet TX Mark II. The new car managed a number of land speed records for turbine-powered vehicles. With a weight of approximately 1,000 kg of the car by up-and ablasten could attack with weights records into two classes.
On a road near the Talladega Superspeedway Heppenstall drove the TX Mark II to six approved by the FIA records and a record time the new International Motor Sports Association ( IMSA ).
Later use
1971 ended Howmet the use of the two vehicles for corporate advertising. Both chassis were, to Ray Heppenstall for U.S. $ 1 - sold. However, since the turbines from Continental were only leased, they had to be returned to the company as soon as the cars were no longer in use for Howmet. Heppenstall later sold both chassis.
Chassis # GTP1 bought Jim Brucker and added it in his personal collection in California. It was issued and had built a mock-up of a Continental turbine. 2006, the car of Bruce Linsmeyer of Avon Aero was purchased and it was an original Continental turbine installed. After the restoration won the Sebring chassis # GTP1 Trophy at the Concours d'Elegance 2007 in Amelia Iceland.
The second car, chassis # GTP2, was from McKee Engineering at the request of the new owner, Chuck Haines, restored by the open cockpit to the original, closed cockpit. An original Continental turbine was hard to come by; so they built a smaller Allison 250C18 one. The other driving related some design changes, as the exhaust pipes emerge not upward but to the rear of the turbine. The wastegate is no longer needed, thus the third exhaust pipe was also no longer necessary. Chassis # GTP2 was completed in July 1996 and entered so far to three times at the Goodwood Festival of Speed . It was later sold to Xavier Mocheron and is now exhibited in France.
While Haines chassis # GTP2 possessed a half-finished McKee Mark -9 chassis was discovered. This third chassis # GTP3, Haines also bought. 2000 McKee built for Haines from a third car according to the original specification on. Again, was installed instead of the Continental turbine, an engine of Allison. Haines has chassis # GTP3 still and sets the car in historic motor sport one, also in the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed .