Fiat Turbina 8001 Coupe 1954

Specifications Fiat Turbina 8001 Coupe 1954 blueprint

Extracts from an article published in January 2006 in the journal Sports Hemmings Exotic Car. After the Second World War, gas turbines received a great deal of interest. The work carried out for aircraft engines at the beginning of 1944 had caused a sensation: turbines could now profitably replace traditional engines to turn the propellers of planes but also the wheels of cars. All the major manufacturers wanted to get into the race to be the first to master this new technology to be applied to the automobile. It seemed then that the first to master gas turbines could reap enormous rewards. In developed countries, all engineers in automobile and aircraft manufacturers therefore wanted to take up the challenge. Three years after the end of the war, in March 1948, the British manufacturer Rover revealed that he was working on a gas turbine for cars, because the manufacturer wanted to exploit the know-how accumulated in wartime know-how acquired in the development of certain jet engines by Frank Whittle. Another English company, Centrax, founded in 1946 by two colleagues at Whittle, claimed to have developed a 160hp turbine for trucks. In France, the prolific engineer Jean Albert Grgoire, always passionate about avant-garde solutions, took an interest in this mode of propulsion, which in 1954 resulted in a unique prototype, the SOCEMA Grgoire (inspiration from La Turbotraction by Spirou). The newly nationalized Renault agency set out in the same direction and in the early 1950s built a prototype, LEtoile Filante, which set speed records on the salt lake of Bonnevile in the USA. Several other manufacturers had initiated gas turbine research programs since 1948. One of them was General Motors, followed in 1949 by Chrysler. A European had embarked on a full study program in 1948, in conjunction between its car engine and aircraft engine divisions, this was the Italian company Fiat, proud of its precious heritage in engine engineering and eager to exploit new technologies. I was afraid that, in the race for progress which had been accelerated by new technologies in wartime, we would have been overtaken by others, said even the brilliant Dante Giacosa, technical director of Fiats automotive division. since 1945. I remembered what happened with piston engines in aviation, suddenly replaced by jets. Will the gas turbine be the engine of the future for cars It was D. Giacosas responsibility to protect the future of his business by being the first. Fiat was not new to gas turbines, it had excellent craftsmanship. A division of the Fiat company ensured the production of an engine derived from the De Havilland Ghost jet, while another division specialized in industrial gas turbines. However, there were two reasons why Fiat did not want to use its expert engineers to study the application of gas turbines in Fiat automobiles. Firstly because Giacosa had said that there were only a few Italian gas turbine experts and it was not possible to divert them from their more urgent work in aeronautical development, secondly, because Giacosa wanted to have of all the mastery in the field without having to seek it elsewhere. In fact, there was a third reason: Dante Giacosa wanted to maintain his full technical grip on new technologies. From his experience, he knew how easily a fragile idea can be shattered in a large corporation by early exposure to criticism. Apply a gas turbine in a car I have always tried to keep this project as secret as possible, to avoid any interference with the outside, says the engineer, out of context it means that Fiat has been working on it for a long time. Giacosas cunning choice as project leader was to commission engineer Vittorio Bellicardi, then responsible for technical calculations, with this secret study. Tact and diplomacy, he told Bellicardi, you have to maneuver skillfully through the maze of different organizations and offices within the Fiat galaxy, and whose collaboration is essential. But Bellicardi will have to start from scratch and learn all about gas turbines. With a team of three engineers, Bellicardi embarked on studies of the art of designing a turbine. They examined and evaluated the entire design of turbine-powered aircraft engines, they searched the world for information on the characteristics: compressor efficiency, constant flow combustion chambers, red turbines and high speed shafts and bearing problems, to name only the main technologies that differ from those of the piston engine. A solid knowledge of the theory of fluid dynamics is necessary to face the particular conditions prevailing inside these engines. In the fall of 1950, after two years of research, Giacosa and Bellicardi felt they were ready to move on to the project and try an automobile experience. Work began in concrete terms in September on an engine which, Giacosa will say, had envisioned the turbine as an integral part of the automobile and not as an autonomous unit which was then integrated into a car, as all other manufacturers. Fiats turbine would therefore be project 8001. Although Virgilio Borsattino and another engineer said they were ready to start the detailed engine design, Giacosa considered that to complete this project, specific test equipment was needed: We had to take measurements of the behavior of the engine. air and gases passing through the different parts of the engine, perfecting the combustion chambers and the shape of the turbine blades, the tubes of the two-stage compressor and the turbine, the injection mechanism, the governor and so on. We also had to make sure that the wheels turning at 30,000 rpm could withstand the centrifugal force. This meant that we would need a pit that we could spin them inside until their breaking point was reached, safe for observers. There was essential research there that promised to be loud, dangerous and expensive. Again, however, the goal was to keep it a secret. Justifying his reputation for ingenuity, Bellicardi found the solution. Completed after World War I, the five-story Fiat Lingotto factory in Turins Lingotto district was famous for its rooftop test track, offering steep turns at either end. The hollow courtyard in the center of the building has long been crossed by three connecting structures. Bellicardi had discovered that one of these structures was relatively isolated on the sixth floor, Traversa D, and furthermore, was not in use. He negotiated its use and the rent with the manager of Lingotto. Then, taking advantage of the equipment discarded by other divisions of the Fiat group as with each laboratory upgrade, he recovered test benches and set up what will be called Special Workshop Tests. No mention had yet been made of gas turbines for cars within Fiat. In May 1951, the design of the 8001 turbine was sufficiently advanced that it was decided to go directly to Fiat workshops to begin manufacturing certain parts. The assembly drawing of the complete unit, dated November 8, 1951, shows a power unit which is unique among automotive turbines. One of the two basic components of automotive gas turbines is a gas generator that has a turbine or compressor wheel, which delivers air to a combustion chamber. The hot gases from the combustion chamber drive the turbine which powers the compressor. There is a lot of gas remaining to be driven to the other building block, the power turbine that propels the car. During start-up, the power turbine is at rest until it begins to rotate under the effect of the exhaust heat of the gas generator. Fiat used this method, in which the relationship between the gas generator and turbine acts like an automatic transmission, in its Project 8001. Fiat engineers used a supercharger to achieve an unusually high compression ratio of 7.0: 1 for a maximum performance and efficiency. In their office in the Lingotto, Traversa D, Bellicardi and Freilino, the engineer responsible for carrying out the tests, submitted all engine components for testing. The assembly, weighing 570 kg, was designed to be mounted on anti-vibration supports at four points of the frame. Its configuration was adapted only for use in a rear-engined car, a type of vehicle Fiat was working on in preparation for the launch of its famous Fiat 600 in 1955. Meanwhile, other gas turbine builders have surfaced across the world. In March 1950, Rover presented the first turbine car, which in 1952 led to the gas turbine speed record of 246.1 km / h. In 1951, French truck maker Laffly showed a chassis powered by a Turbomeca turbine, while in the same year a 36-ton Kenworth semi-trailer was fitted with a Boeing turbine. In Paris, in October 1952, a SOCEMA-Grgoire turbine sport coupe was exhibited. This long, secret development of the Fiat turbine was meant to prove that the team led by Dante Giacosa to design a small turbine was not some bizarre aberration. Thanks to the efforts made, the Fiat Turbina 8001 project will finally be able to come out of hiding. In 1953, more substantial funding for the 8001 project was made available by Fiat director Gaudenzio Bono and chairman Vittorio Valletta. The work on this project could be successful, despite Oscar Montabone, but with the continued support of Bellicardi. The nature of the car was determined by the engine, which promised to be powerful, but Fiat engineers had to find a compromise: a low power turbine would be more in line with traditional Fiat cars, on the other hand, larger turbines were better. quality. With this in mind, the 8001 project was set at a rated power of 200 hp, the same power as a contemporary 4.1-liter Ferrari Type 342 America. At the same time, Fiat was leading the development of a sports car, its 8V model with a V-8 engine, for which a new independent suspension was developed. It was a stacked-wishbone design with a single upper arm that operated a coil spring and damper inside an oil bath housing. One of them was placed at each corner of the car chassis, giving very low body roll, the suspension was supplemented with front and rear anti-roll bars. Drum brakes are Fiat FB model, inside Borrani rims fitted with Pirelli 6.00 16 Stelvio Corsa tires. The Fiat Turbina 8001 body is the work of Fabio Luigi Rapi, designer at Centro Stile Fiat. As an engineer and also a stylist, the talented Rapi had been appointed vice-director by Giacosa in 1949, and in 1952 took over the management of Fiats special bodywork department. Surprisingly, he was perhaps one of the few Italian designers with practical experience of powerful rear-engined cars. From 1934 to 1949 he had been employed at Isotta Fraschini, a famous Italian manufacturer, compared to Rolls-Royce for the quality of its cars, where he participated in the styling and design as an engineer of a spectacular car from the post-war, the 8C Monterosa. Its 3.4-liter V8 engine at the rear produced 120 horsepower. Although the Turbina 8001 was designed to have a body covering the rear wheels, the car was designed to be able to drive without it as well. The ailerons on the rear fenders were very helpful in improving lateral stability at top speeds. This device was suggested during wind tunnel tests at the Turin Polytechnic, which showed a drag coefficient of only Cd 0.14. The first track test took place on April 14, 1954. Salamano joked that since being a Fiat test driver he had no idea how this car would react when he pressed the throttle ( which was an entirely new form of motive power), he even had to carry a parachute while rolling on a track 30 meters high In any case, the test went well, the car enjoyed its flawless 15 second start-up streak and, accompanied by the valiant Freilino, Salamano made several laps on the Lingotto roof. If the final tuning phase of the Turbina 8001 seemed rushed, it was because the Turin Motor Show was going to open on April 21, and the Fiat Turbina had the potential to be a huge sensation for Fiat. during the Show. It was then only a rumor because, when the Italian president inaugurated the Salon, at 10 a.m. sharp on April 21, the secret had still not been officially revealed. Only General Managers Bono and Giacosa had mentioned it during a meeting at the Rotary Club in Turin. It was not until April 23 at the Turin Caselle airport, bathed in sunshine, that Fiat executives presented to the astonished specialist journalists, gathered to see the mysterious Fiat Turbina 8001. Only two days earlier, Salamano had tested and posed for press photos. Nevertheless, the communicated characteristics of the turbine were very conservative with an advertised power of 150 hp and a turbine speed of 22,000 rpm, which was equivalent to 180 km / h. The gas generator was actually running over 27,000 rpm and giving at least 10 percent more power. Fiats timeline in presenting its Turbina model was impeccable. Fiat was able to claim the first public demonstration of a turbine car in Europe, because the SOCEMA-Grgoire of 1952 had never driven. In fact, Fiat could claim to be the second automaker in the world to display a car with a gas turbine. GM carried out tests of its Firebird I in the fall of 1953, but never invited the media to see it in action, while Chrysler, with its turbine-powered Plymouth, presented in New York from April 7 to 11, 1954, had to wait until June 16, 1954 to make his first laps in front of the press and the public. It was not until July 1955 that Austin unveiled its first car-mounted turbine, which showed strange design similarities to the Fiat Turbina. Fiat engineers continued their efforts to improve the 8001 project, and developments over several years resulted in dramatic improvements in performance. The output of 200 hp at 18,000 rpm with a gas generator operating at 29,000 rpm was greatly exceeded. With the gas generator at 30,500 rpm and the power turbine at 20,000, the power had increased to 295 hp. The fuel consumption was very high, on the order of twice that of a comparable traditional engine. 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