zakumy blog: propeller

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Found in a barn, sound familiar? This car isn't familiar though, its a 1932 french Helicron

Images via: http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11262/1932-Helicron-No-1.aspx where you can also read much more about it and see a full gallery of dozens of photos taken at the 2008 Meadowbrook Concours http://jalopnik.com/399836/1932-helicron-or-the-pedestrian-hunter

In the late 1930s this one-of-a-kind Helicron was placed in a barn and forgotten. Rediscovered in 2000, rebuilt, and reintroduced to the world with its original Rosengart chassis, suspension, and brakes. Unfortunately the original motor has been lost to time but it has since been fitted with a 1980s Citroen GS 4-cylinder motor... Although the manufacturer is unknown, it's believed that this car was built in France 1932

Following the first World War it was not uncommon for recently displaced airplane engineers to look towards the automobile industry for employment. As in this example, a few entrepreneurs developed propeller-powered cars with the notion that propeller power was an efficient means of moving a vehicle. See the 1922 Helica: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/03/1922-helica-propeller-driven-car.html

On this car, when the wooden propeller is spinning at full speed and efficiently, this little 1,000-pound boat-tailed skiff can hit freeway speeds exceeding 75 mph. This is the one and only Helicron in existence, owned by Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN.

Video of it here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2484981/1932_helicron/