See our privacy statement. The Novi name was considered, reportedly, but ultimately Granatelli decided against it. The following year STP commissioned Lotus to do a turbine car, and Chapman produced a much more conventional design, the 56, with the turbine behind the driver in the conventional mid-mounted position. The STP-Paxton turbine car that produced a heartbreaking near miss at the 1967 Indy 500 is the brainchild of Italian American Andy Granatelli, a racing nut who combined engineering vision with great business acumen. Andy Granatelli would return to Indy in 1968 with all-new Lotus turbine cars with backing for STP and Amoco Oil, after filing and losing a bitter lawsuit over rules changes designed to curtail the turbine car's “unfair advantage.” And, again, the cars would come tantalizingly close to winning, but would fall short in … The engine drove a Ferguson four-wheel drive system, which transmitted the power to the wheels. Wallis, a distant relative of Barnes Wallis, had developed a workable plan for harnessing a gas turbine to a race car. In less than a month after the 1967 Indianapolis 500, USAC cut the allowable turbine air intake area from 23.999 to 15.999 square inches and imposed the ruling immediately, although it had been customary to give two years' notice of engine changes. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions. Carrying on the family tradition, Vince -- the son of Andy -- Granatelli put another ST-6B turbine into a 1978 Corvette for a claimed 880 hp. The ST6B-62 was a 550 bhp (410 kW) version of the PT6 developed for use in the STP-Paxton Turbocar, raced in the 1967 Indianapolis 500. The STP Paxton Turbocar was radical, unlike anything the 500 had seen before or since. Between 12th and 14th Streets We take a look at Turbine Cars: Past, Present, and Future. Wikimedia. Condensed story of the 1967 STP Turbine powered race car at the Indianapolis 500May 1967 Before submitting a question, please visit Frequently Asked Questions. Say turbine car and Indianapolis 500 and most car lovers and race fans will picture the 1967 STP-sponsored day-glo red racer that Parnelli Jones darned near drove to victory that year. Parnelli Jones drove the car during tire testing in Phoenix early that year and was impressed with the car. It crashed during qualification for the 1968 race; the damage was not fixed and the car ended its career. The Replicarz 1/18 scale 1967 STP Paxton turbine. A torque converter eliminated the need for a clutch pedal and gearshift. The cars followed the design layout of the previous year’s STP Special, with the turbine positioned midship, left of the driver, and, like its predecessor, it had 4-wheel drive. With driver Parnelli Jones in the cockpit, the STP-sponsored, turbine-powered number 40 Indy Car ran in the lead throughout much of the 1967 Indianapolis 500, until the failure of a $6 bearing cost Jones a near-certain victory. [7], Television comedian Johnny Carson once drove the Turbine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during a private test session.[8]. For 1969 STP extended its association with Lotus, and with the stranglehold now even tighter on turbine cars, decided to go the conventional piston-engined route with Ford turbocharged power in a Lotus 4wd chassis. The Lotus 56 used a modified version of the same engine and four-wheel drive in a more advanced wedge-shaped body with new USAC intake restrictions, but one car crashed in turn one during practice killing driver Mike Spence and the three entered into the race did not finish either; subsequently USAC banned turbines and four-wheel drive cars entirely. If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. Wallis then offered the plan to Carroll Shelby and Shelby said (according to later court testimony), "Hogwash." Driven by Joe Leonard, the car crashed into the turn four wall during practice and never raced again.[1][5]. Granatelli had always been a speed addict, having set over 400 land speed records. Radical, mind-bending creations came before 1967’s STP Paxton-Turbocar and a few have followed since, but nothing has come close to matching the engineering insanity or the undying interest brought by Andy Granatelli’s dayglo orange machines. It is currently on loan to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Faracars 101 Indianapolis 500 STP Turbine race car made in France MIB Mint Boxed Parnelli Jones drove the turbine-powered STP entry owned by Andy Granatelli in the 1967 Indianapolis 500. The STP-Paxton Turbocar was built around an aluminum box-shaped backbone. Powered by a 550 hp Pratt & Whitney Turbine this secretly constructed four-wheel drive roadster stunned the world when it arrived at Indianapolis for qualifying. The engine idled at 54% of full throttle, which meant that the driver didn't even have to press the accelerator pedal to pull away; all he had to do was ease his foot off the brake pedal. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, 'Parnelli Jones Made Mark in Speedway History', 'Roger Ward's Indy 500 Preview: Will the Turbines Take Over? See our. There was also a sister chassis to the turbine car designed to take a Novi V8, but the frame was damaged in heat treating and the project ended there. ', "Indianapolis Motor Speedway remembers Johnny Carson", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=STP-Paxton_Turbocar&oldid=972640166, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 August 2020, at 04:29. Finally Andy Granatelli and STP agreed to build the most futuristic car every to race at Indy. Andy Granatelli took that advice to heart when his team's turbine-powered Indy car failed, in a most heartbreaking fashion, to win the 1967 Indianapolis 500. Need to buy a Michigan health plan for you or your family? The cowling for the car was misplaced for over 20 years. Penned by Ken Wallis, the car – known simply as the “Turbine” – attempted to assemble every far-reaching Indy 500 … The most successful cars were fielded by the STP race team at various Indy races in the 60s, starting with the Parnelli Jones driven STP Paxton … Visit the IIIF page to learn more. After leading for much of the race, a transmission failure with only eight miles left ended the run. Again the cars dominated—and failed within sight of the finish. Do you have questions about your existing individual or group policy? Granatelli also added four-wheel drive to the design. But, here is how the Shelby Turbine Indy Car, as it was later known, differed from the ’67 car: It used a more powerful GE turbine instead of a Pratt & Whitney turbine, [6] Curiously, rather than model this car Mattel chose to make a model of the similar "Shelby Turbine" which practised at Indianapolis in 1968 as one of the popular Hot Wheels toy cars. The STP-Paxton turbine car that produced a heartbreaking near miss at the 1967 Indy 500 is the brainchild of Italian American Andy Granatelli, a racing nut who combined engineering vision with great business acumen. It’s the Indy 500’s defining car. Plenty of racing car models here. Almost every part of the Turbocar was a marked departure from contemporary race cars, from the side-by-side chassis up. Wallis and his crew moved in with Andy's brother Joe at STP's Paxton division in Santa Monica, and they began work on the turbocar in January 1966. [3], Jones qualified the car at Indianapolis in sixth place at 166.075 mph. Granatelli had always been a speed addict, having set over 400 land speed records. that are now a thing of the distant past with today's sad state of affairs - one chassis and two engines. Graham Hill, the 1966 winner in the #70 STP Turbine, was first to qualify and set a new qualifying record. Verret said that car will do 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. The year before, Parnelli Jones had strolled away from the field in his bulbous, four-wheel-drive STP-Paxton turbine car until a transmission bearing failed with just eight miles to go. The two turbine-powered cars to race at the Indy 500–the 1967 STP-Paxton Turbocar and the 1968 Lotus 56–never won the race outright, but they came damn close. ... the head of motor oil company STP. The following year, an STP-Lotus collaboration produced jet turbine cars for the Indy 500. The driver was seated on the right side of the backbone, while the engine, a Pratt & Whitney Canada ST6B-62 turbine engine, was mounted on the left side of the backbone. Replicarz nails the iconic STP turbine that Parnelli Jones nearly drove to victory in the 1967 Indy 500. Type 56 built by Lotus for STP. Personal information will not be shared or result in unsolicited email. ‘SPACE-AGE’ RACING: The STP crew pushes Andy Granatelli’s turbine-powered STP Paxton through the pits at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1967. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. [2] Work started over again and the car was ready for the 1967 Indianapolis 500. We may update this record based on further research and review. Constitution Avenue, NW The car was originally donated to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History by the STP Corporation. #TurbineTuesday today with a look at the turbine powered STP-Paxton Turbocar, the car that almost won the Indy 500 back in 1967 with Parnelli Jones at the wheel but which suffered a torque-converter failure with 3 laps to go… It all started back in 1966, Ken Wallis had designed and developed a concept of a gas turbine powered race car. [4] The car was refurbished and entered by STP in the 1968 Indianapolis 500. If you have something to share that would enrich our knowledge about this object, use the form below. The STP-Paxton Turbocar was an American racing car, designed by Ken Wallis as the STP entry in the Indianapolis 500. The next two years I became a huge fan of the Granatelli's and their incredibly radical turbine cars. It was Granatell… Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for STP Turbine Car, 1/43rd Scale Model, SMTS, Cast White Metal at the best online prices at eBay! The most famous of the turbine corner-turning racers were the Granatelli STP cars built for … Though never successful as an automobile powerplant, the small aircraft engine it was based on would become one of the most popular turboprop aircraft engines in history. Finally, Andy Granatelliof STP expressed interest in the concept. Parnelli Jones drove it in the 1967 event. The combination paid off and Mario Andretti finally captured the Indianapolis 500 for STP in the distinctive wedge-shaped STP Special. The Lotus 56 was a gas turbine -powered four-wheel-driven racing car, designed by Maurice Philippe as Team Lotus 's 1968 STP-backed entry in the Indianapolis 500, replacing the successful Lotus 38 and the 1967 STP-Paxton Turbocar. The suspension's coil springs were located inside the backbone and the suspension A-frames had airfoil cross-sections. Sadly, race regulators banned turbine-powered cars outright in 1968, so the technology was never developed. [4], USAC had limited the engine intake area to 23.999 square inches to limit the turbine's power output, but the engine still produced 550 hp. He first presented the idea to Dan Gurney, who passed on the idea. [1], The aluminum frame of the car was badly warped during heat treating in early 1966, eliminating any possibility of the car racing in the 1966 Indianapolis 500. STP’s 1967 Indy 500 Turbine is a sure winner this time! 2080. Turbine-powered cars at the Indianapolis 500 and F1. The idea was so radical both Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby turned it down. In 1967, the STP-Paxton Turbocar came tantalizingly close to taking the checkered flag in first, undone by a $6 bearing failure on lap 197 with driver Parnelli Jones having dominated the day. STP-Paxton Turbocar. (IMS Photo) On March 16, 1967, Parnelli Jones drove what was described as “the nation’s first space-age racing car” when he put Andy Granatelli’s radical turbine-powered racer through its initial shakedown runs at Phoenix Int’l Raceway. If you require a personal response, please use our contact page. STP Turbine Cars Were Indy Innovation at Its Finest However, there was still one more innovation to come out of the Brickyard: one last glimmer of hope for Indy’s innovation in a changing landscape. Our collection database is a work in progress. A movable panel was mounted behind the cockpit, which acted as an airbrake. What I loved most about Indy was all the innovations of the 60's and 70's and the multitude of different cars and engines, aerodynamics, etc. Finally, Andy Granatelli of STP expressed interest in the concept. Personal information will not be shared or result in unsolicited email. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online. The STN 6/76 was a 500 bhp (370 kW) version of the PT6 developed for use in the Lotus 56, raced in the 1968 Indianapolis 500 and later in Formula One races, in 1971. Wallis and his crew moved in with Andy's brother Joe at STP's Paxton division in Santa Monica, and they began work on the turbocar in January 1966. Second Day time trials – Sunday May 19. He first presented the idea to Dan Gurney, who passed on the idea. One the right side of its central space frame backbone was the cockpit, and on the left was a Pratt and Whitney ST6 aircraft turbine engine. Jones lapped the one-mile Arizona oval at over 120 mph, faster than the track record, and said the car, identified as the STP … [1] With the reduced inlet area, the maximum lap speed that could be achieved was 161 mph. It was found in 2007 in an office at the Smithsonian Institution. However, with just eight miles left to go, he coasted into the pits with a transmission bearing failure. He agreed to drive the car in the Indianapolis 500 after being offered $100,000 and half of any prize money he won. Wallis then offered the plan to Carroll Shelby and Shelby said (according to later court testimony), "Hogwash." Mr J note: The official name for STP chief Andy Granatelli’s gas-turbine racer was the STP-Paxton Turbocar, Paxton being STP’s division in Santa Monica, California, where the vehicle was built. The STP Paxton Turbine Car was the first turbine-powered car to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Photos by Mark Fothergill, courtesy Replicarz, unless otherwise noted. The car is now in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Granatelli gained notoriety in the 1960s as an entrant at the Indianapolis 500 where his STP-branded creations, including the famous turbine-powered cars, captured the … After review, selected comments will appear on this page along with the name you provide. Free shipping for many products! Wallis, a distant relative of Barnes Wallis, had developed a workable plan for harnessing a gas turbine to a race car. Blue Cross is here. At the start of the race, he quickly took the lead and rarely relinquished it. However, drivers reported that it had a three-second throttle lag. Rain kept cars … The car weighed 1,750 pounds, compared to the Indy minimum weight of 1,350 pounds. STP had entered a different turbine-powered car in the 1967 Indy 500, whose victory was spoiled by a failed ball bearing three laps before the finish line. Later, his STP Lotus 56 teammate Joe Leonard in #60 won the pole position with a four-lap average speed of 171.559 mph (276.1 km/h). Washington, D.C. Email powered by MailChimp (Privacy Policy & Terms of Use), International Media Interoperability Framework. Please note that we generally cannot answer questions about the history, rarity, or value of your personal artifacts. We may use the provided email to contact you if we have additional questions. It was Granatelli who introduced a side-by-side concept — that is, putting the mid-mounted (relative to the wheelbase) engine at the driver's left (a similar idea, with the driver in an offset gondola on the left, had been used by Smokey Yunick several years earlier).
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