GM parked a jet-like automobile in the Antique Auto Museum located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, for display to the public in October 2008. The new autos look very similar to military fighter jets and run on nearly the same turbine engine; the only difference is that these vehicles are meant for travel on the ground instead of the air.
The vehicles on display were the Firebird I, II, and III. All three vehicles were created by GM as early as the 1950′s by GM’s Allison Aircraft Division in Indianapolis. GM Vice President Charles McCuen (active in 1949) was interested in producing a turbine powered automobile for ground and roadway travel. After much work and research GM finally unveiled the Firebird I in 1954.
Since then both the Firebird II (1956) and Firebird III (1959) models have been revealed as vehicle prototypes to the public.
During their time the vehicles were used to test out the turbine power concept but eventually helped give birth to the automatic climate control system, ultrasonic keyless entry, antilock brakes, and automatic headlamps. The Firebird III also introduced a “Unicontrol” joystick which was used to drive the vehicle instead of a steering wheel.
In October, when the vehicles were introduced, GM Restoration Specialist Mike Erdodi gave a small demonstration on the turbine engines. Unfortunately when he started the vehicles they were running on backup 10 horsepower piston engines; the turbine engines, as it turns out, are just too costly to run.
All three vehicles were transported to the museum by way of a truck, which means none of the cars traveled. So much for turbine ground travel, especially if it costs an arm and a leg just to start.
