Sources

Where the facts come from

Every factual claim on this site links to its source. This is the full list.

How we checked

Each fact was written in our own words alongside its source. Our build script stores the text of every source and, for each fact, checks that the key words and figures really appear in it. 161 of 161 checks passed when this site was last built (10 November 2026). Where we couldn’t find a named source saying something, we left it out. Where good sources disagree, we say so and give both.

Where sources differ

How many, and who got them. Every source we checked agrees on 55 cars: five prototypes and 50 for the programme. Daniel Strohl (Hemmings) says only 46 of the 50 went to users, with two at the 1964 World’s Fair and two kept for publicity.
Where they were built. George Huebner, quoted by Michael Lamm, says the Italian-built bodies were fitted to engines and chassis at a rented Chrysler Research plant on Greenfield Road, Detroit. The Detroit Historical Museum says Chrysler’s Highland Park design studio.
When the programme ran. Chrysler’s own documents and Hemmings: 29 October 1963 to January 1966. CBS Detroit and the Detroit Historical Museum: 1964 to 1966.
Power. The Henry Ford and Hemmings give 130 hp at the output shaft; Chrysler’s 1965 handover speech says 130 hp to the rear wheels.
Engine speeds. Idle figures range from about 8,000 rpm (one Hemmings article, which looks borrowed from a general description of turbines) through over 10,000 (Lehto) to 18,000 to 22,000 (Hagerty, Leno). Top figures range from 45,000 to 50,000 rpm; Lehto’s 60,000 is the rev counter’s scale.
Fuel economy. About 11.5 mpg at part throttle (Lamm), 17.25 mpg (Detroit Historical Museum), about 20 mpg (Leno, today), and “not quite as good” as a piston car (Huebner, 1966).
Cost. Huebner: $50,000 to $55,000 a car. Rosenbusch (Stellantis): $10,000 or more for the engine alone.
Why 46 were destroyed. Lehto (2021), one Hemmings article and Jay Leno: import duty. Bill Carry and Mark Olson (via Hemmings, 2013), Strohl and Chrysler’s historian Brandt Rosenbusch (2021): mainly to keep prototypes out of private hands, with duty a minor factor at most.
How many survive. Nine in almost every source; the Detroit Historical Museum’s own release says ten.
How many Chrysler still owns. Two (Hagerty and Lehto, 2021); a Hemmings article last updated in 2024 still says three.
Jay Leno’s car. Leno says he bought it in 2009 during Chrysler’s bankruptcy; Hagerty quotes Rosenbusch saying it was sold after the Walter P. Chrysler Museum closed.
The Harrah car’s engine. Hagerty: rebuilt by GE Engine Services for Frank Kleptz. Lehto: Leno found Kleptz a working turbine through friends at Chrysler.
When the turbine programme ended. 1979 (Stahls, The Henry Ford) or 1981 (Hemmings).
Tequila and perfume. Lamm and Lehto tell the Mexican tequila story differently in the details. The Chanel No. 5 story appears in four sources with no date or witness, and Lehto calls it a rumour.
The Los Angeles car. Lehto (2021) says the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles; Hagerty says the Natural History Museum, now the Petersen Automotive Museum. We could not find a current Petersen page to confirm it.
Two primary documents (George Huebner’s 1966 technical summary and J. M. Sturm’s 1965 handover speech) are transcriptions on turbinecar.com, Mark Olson’s site. That site now blocks automated checks, so we cite archived copies from February 2025.
The photos. The 1964 World’s Fair picture is uploaded to Wikimedia Commons as the uploader’s own work, dated 1964; we rely on that statement.

How we checked

Where sources differ

All sources (24)