All cars have a steering wheel and four wheels, at least part of which is driven. That seems correct, but an exception appears to exist to the last rule. Propeller propulsion has some advantages, but also enormous disadvantages.
Front-wheel drive with the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive with the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive with a mid or rear-mounted engine, all-wheel drive with the engine anywhere: it’s all possible. Electrification even opens the door to a multi-engine setup, so that, if necessary, each wheel can have its own copy and an impressive combination of combustion and electric motors is possible.
Variety enough, but what we no longer see today are cars that reveal their powers to the environment not by road, but by air. Okay, right away a rectification: jet engines are not uncommon in the world of drag racing and land speed records, as Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond will also confirm. However, the only way to come into contact with Jet Cars as a consumer is to still buy a second-hand car from a well-known Rotterdam dealer. However, at the beginning of the last century, many attempts were made to make the car with propeller drive ready for production. In the search for the ideal drive form, this drive form had at least one major advantage: it was economical to make. The lack of any form of transmission to the wheels means no transmission, no drive shafts and most importantly no gearbox.
In addition, the propeller car is not impressed by a slippery or soft surface and pushing against the air saves a lot of wear on the tires. However, these advantages have a lot of disadvantages. The main one is efficiency. Simply put, the propeller has to rotate very fast to get movement in the car and most of the energy is lost to noise and wind. The acceleration of propeller cars was therefore almost by definition sad, as the handy overview shows douglas-self.com.
Then there is also the issue of pedestrian safety. A hundred years ago that was hardly a theme, but even then it could not be denied that going through traffic with a giant chopper in front is not a great idea. There were also propeller cars with the rear drive, but a striking number of manufacturers opted for a setup with the propeller at the front. In addition to a maximum deterrent effect on bystanders, this also guarantees enough fresh air for the occupants, who are only a few centimeters from a huge, full-speed fan during the entire journey.
The most tenacious designer of propeller cars was without a doubt Frenchman Marcel Leyat. Already in the first half of the 10s of the last century, he built his first Hélica, which actually looked like an airplane cockpit for public roads. The apparently streamlined car was feather-light, partly due to the simple powertrain. With a weight of 250 kg, the vehicle was easy to move by hand, as the video below shows. With 8 hp, the device started to move. According to some sources, he was even quick with it, although that does not seem to be a good marriage with the extremely narrow wheels and the rear wheel steering. Until 1927, according to tradition, Leyat built about thirty Hélicas, in various open and closed shapes and with two- or four-bladed propellers, here and there with a frame to ensure some safety. However, the Hélica was also not viable. Since its disappearance, the propeller-driven car has remained with a single experimental specimen for army or test use, and that’s probably a good thing.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
- Buch-T (photos 1, 5 and 6)
- Rama (photo 2)
- Cnum – Conservatoire numérique des Arts et Métiers (photo 3)
- Brian Snelson (photo 4)