https://www.foxnews.com/auto/rare-1963-chrysler-turbine-car-soldThe experimental vehicle is one of two in private hands
By Gary Gastelu | Fox News
It came and went as quickly as a jet.
(Hyman Ltd.)
A rare 1963 Chrysler Turbine car has been sold for an unknown, but surely huge amount just one day after being listed by a classic car dealer.
(Hyman Ltd.)
It is one of a run of just 55 experimental vehicles Chrysler built to evaluate the use of a turbine in an automobile.
(Hyman Ltd.)
The hope was that a relatively simple, smooth operating engine that could run on a variety of fuels would offer a reliable and efficient alternative to piston engines, but its poor emissions and extremely hot exhaust doomed it to the history books after a couple of years of testing.
(Hyman Ltd.)
All but nine of the cars that were built were sent to the crusher, with seven of the others ending up in museums and two in private hands.
One of them famously belongs to Jay Leno, while the one offered for sale by Hyman Ltd. In St. Louis was part of a collection of cars owned by late collector Frank Kleptz. Kleptz has purchased it in the 1980s from Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, who bought it from the Harrah’s casino collection.
No price for the car was publically listed, but Hyman Ltd. owner Mark Hyman called it "the most significant sale of a post-war automobile in recent history."
Hyman, who recently took the functional car out for a spin, said the buyer is currently remaining anonymous but did confirm that it wasn’t Leno.
(Hyman Ltd.)
If you’re bummed you missed out the car, there's still some hope. Hyman has one of the spare turbines available for $100,000, so you can try to build your own.
Gary Gastelu is FoxNews.com's Automotive Editor covering the car industry and racing. Follow @foxnewsautos
