Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Jet Engine VW Beetle

Ron Patricks jet engine powered bettle
What do you get when you combine a jet engine with a VW Beetle? Well, you get what Mr. Ron Patrick created  -- this awesome baby!

Now aside from this being to coolest Beetle you will ever see in your life, why would you want to put money into something like this if you couldn't even ride it on the street. Hehe, I got some good news for you! It's completely street legal. The only problem is you can't engage the supersonic jet engine on the road. How sad. You're more than welcome to use it's original gasoline engine though!

Mr. Ron Patrick - creator of the jet engine beetle, has his PHD in mechanical engineering from Standford university. That means he knows what the hell he's doing.

Ron Patricks jet engine powered bettle
Blast off!

How fast does this car go?
The jet engine boasts about 1350 horsepower. However, Ron doesn't really know exactly how fast it can make the car go. This is what he said:

"I don't know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn't stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though."


Ron Patrick used a General Electric Model T58-8F, which is a helicopter turboshaft engine that he modified into a jet engine.

Ron Patricks jet engine powered bettle
Anyone up for a barbecue?
The most recent funny news about this car (actually several years ago but he doesn't update his site) is that his local DMV made a request to the some federal agency that his Beetle might be a threat to national security. They raise the question of what might happen if the thing gets into the wrong hands. This is how Ron responded:

"If someone with the name "b_laden13" is the highest eBay bidder for my Beetle can I refuse his offer even if he has the prestigious eBay Red Shooting Star feedback rating (the highest)?"

Want More?
Find more photographs and information on this Jet engine powered Bettle at ronpatrickstuff.com

Anyone wanna go for a ride?