Video: Onboard A Jet Engine Racing Car At 180mph – Howmet TX

We can’t deny the godly sound of a lumpy V8, or the scream of the V10 from a Lexus LFA. But this Howmet TX is powered by the jet engine of a military helicopter, and has a sound that surprisingly gets my blood pumping as much as a turbocharged inline 6.

Unlike other jet powered vehicles such as a land speed record car, this jet is attached directly to the rear wheels, despite its traditional racing chassis. The original car, built in 1968, was based on a McKee Can-Am car, with the later two built with the jet engine being more of a focus. The jet in question, a Continental TS325-1 helicopter engine, produces the equivalent of 330bhp, running on Jet A fuel.

With an addition of a waste gate cutting down on lag from the jet engine, making the car much more drivable.

And boy do we want to drive it. The whoosh of the jet and startling goods looks is begging to be thrashed on the track, and watching the video below, we’re need to get out hands on one.