Blastolene Special
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox automobile The Blastolene Special, also known as the "Tank Car", is a custom built car, designed and built by American craftsman Randy Grubb. The car is currently owned by American entertainer Jay Leno, who drives it on public streets, and also displays the car at various car shows and meets in the greater Los Angeles area. The Special is powered by an American military tank engine and features a custom-made aluminium body,<ref name="blastoleneOfficialSite">Blastolene Special official site URL accessed 17 October 2013</ref> it originally produced 810 bhp (600 kW) at 2,800 rpm and 1,560 ft lb (2,120 N·m) of torque at 2,400 rpm.<ref name="carAndDriverArticle">Car and Driver article URL accessed 17 October 2013</ref> The car weighs 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg) which is 1/11th the weight of the original tank from which the engine was used.<ref name="popularMechanicArticle">Popular Mechanic article Template:Webarchive URL accessed 25 February 2007</ref>
History
In 2001, the Blastolene Special was built by craftsman Randy Grubb. It is powered by a Continental AV1790-5B,<ref name="carAndDriverArticle"/> a huge engine that weighs as much as a Volkswagen Beetle, which was previously used in the 51-ton M47 Patton Tank in the 1950s. It also features a Greyhound bus transmission and a retro designed sheet metal body. Jay Leno put it into the extensive collection of cars he owns —84 cars and 73 motorcycles Template:As of.<ref name="fabricator">theFabricator article on Jay Leno's cars</ref> The car was built at Grubb's shop in Grants Pass, Oregon.
After purchasing the car, Jay Leno made numerous enhancements to the roadworthiness of the vehicle, including a new six-speed Allison automatic gearbox, new rear brakes, new electrical system, and chassis work.<ref name="popularMechanicArticle"/> The engine was later upgraded with fuel injection and twin turbochargers from Gale Banks Engineering. It now reportedly produces Template:Convert and Template:Convert of torque.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Facts
- Introduced as "The Jay Leno Tank Car" on Gran Turismo 4, it ended up in the game "by accident" when the development team visited Jay's garage to record some engine sounds. They noticed the car and put it in the game on behalf of their intrigue.<ref name="channel4Article">Channel4 Interview with Jay Leno on "The Tank Car" URL accessed 25 February 2007</ref> it also Reappears in Gran Turismo 5 as "Tank Car '03"
- During one of the first freeway test drives an unsuitable oil line ruptured and dumped the entire 17 gallons of oil onto the road<ref name="channel4Article"/>
- The car gets 5 miles per gallon (up from the original performance of 2–3 miles per gallon, after the transmission was replaced.)<ref name="carAndDriverArticle"/>
- The engine red-lines at 2,900 rpm.
- Jay Leno brought the car on his show when interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger and introduced it as "The Terminator car".<ref name="popularMechanicArticle"/>
- Jay Leno had a tuning company, Gale Banks Engineering, add twin turbochargers to the engine, not for higher power but to get better fuel economy
Specifications
With the original naturally aspirated engine:
- Quarter mile — 14.7 seconds at Template:Convert
- Top speed — 140 mph+
- Template:Convert and Template:Convert of torque
<ref>Car and Driver Blastolene Special Specifications Template:Webarchive</ref>