Turbine-powered car

Capstone Turbine, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has announced that its C30 liquid-fuelled microturbine has been integrated into a Ford S-Max people carrier in the UK.

Langford Performance Engineering, which is based in Wellingborough, designed and modified the Ford S-Max seven-seat crossover vehicle into a series hybrid plug-in vehicles with a C30 under the hood as an electric range extender.

Langford reports that the Whisper Eco-Logic car gets up to 80mpg in early-stage demonstration testing.

’Our Whisper Eco-Logic vehicle is a plug-in electric car with an onboard turbine generator to keep the batteries charged and extend the range of the car beyond that of a typical electric vehicle,’ said Dick Langford, Langford’s founder and managing director.

’This sets it apart from the hybrids now available such as the Lexus and Toyota, which use conventional four-stroke engines to provide both vehicle drive and battery charging. In early demonstration testing, the car is getting up to 80 miles per gallon and travels 40 miles on electric power before the Capstone turbine generator starts up and charges the lithium-ion batteries,’ he added.