Propellor-Driven Cars

THE CURTISS WIND WAGON: 1906

Left: The Curtiss Wind-Wagon: circa 1906 Glenn Curtiss sits in one of his Wind Wagons, used by Thomas Scott Baldwin to test Curtiss airship propellers for Baldwins airships. Note the twin arms joined at the end by what look like fabric 'propellor blades'. The picture quality is poor but there appears to be a V-twin engine driving the propellor via a wide belt and with a considerable reduction ratio. This is the earliest propellor wagon found so far. It is not likely that an earlier machine will be found as 1906 is very early in the development of the IC engine. Did no-one make a steam-powered propcar? None found so far.

Left: The Curtiss Wind-Wagon: circa 1906 Curtiss himself said: “‘The machine, although of no commercial value, is thoroughly practical and will easily run at the speed mentioned, 30 miles per hour… ‘It is needless to say that the rig is a great horse scarer, and blows up a great cloud of dust when passing along the road, and will even pull the leaves from the trees where the branches are low.’ …There is no patent on the idea and any of our readers who have a small gasoline motor can build their own craft from the suggestions given in the illustrations." A thoroughly practical assessment from Mr Curtis.

DR THOMAS' WIND-WAGON: 1909

Left: Doctor Thomas' wind-wagon: 1909 This four-wheel propcar was designed by Doctor Julian P Thomas and driven here by Charles M Crout, as part of some kind of competition. There was supposed to be a race with another car, (It is not known if this was also a prop-car) but the other driver was seriously injured when the front wheels of his car collapsed making a turn. The prop-car was said to have given "a surprising demonstration of speed". Judging by the look of the chain drive, the prop was not geared down much if at all. It appears that Doctor Thomas had Previous; he had earlier built a car with a rear propeller that was driven along a crowded street, which must have been rather hazardous. It was not popular because of the noise it made and the clouds of dust thrown up. Location: Morris Park, in the Bronx, on June 1909 There is more info on Doctor Thomas here; he seems to have been a bit of a nutter, performing some dangerous balloon flights. Charles M Crout appears to be unknown to Google.

Left: Portrait of Doctor Julian P Thomas: 1910? Here is Dr Thomas. He did not confine his interests to balloons and wind-wagons. Apparently "Includes ads for the doctor's rectal suppositories". Tests of the wind-wagons did not get off to a good start. This is from the Urbana Daily Courier, for 3rd November 1908: "Dr Julian P Thomas Badly Hurt" "New York, Nov 2nd. While experimenting late Sunday with his wind wagon, Dr Julian P Thomas, the aeronaut, met with an accident at the Morris park experiment grounds of the Aeronautic society. Dr Thomas was carried to the cluhroom unconscions. The physicians who were called decided that he had suffered no internal injuries, but still feared that serious spinal trouble would result." Dr Julian P Thomas makes the papers again; this is from the New York Times for 25 March 1909, Page 7: SUING DR. THOMAS FOR HER AUTO RIDE; Miss Haas's $25,000 Damage Suit for Loss of Her Leg on Trial. CAR HIT A TROLLEY POLE And Everybody Was Hurt -- Dr. Thomas and Girl's Companion Are Suing the City. Dr. Julian P. Thomas, known to fame both as an aeronaut and automobilist, appeared yesterday as defendant before Supreme Court Justice Brady and a jury in the action in which Miss Frances Haas seeks to recover from him $25,000 damages for the loss of her right leg in the automobile accident on the night of July 7, 1907, in which both were injured. The Museum Staff have not so far been able to discover the outcome of the case. It seems that Doctor Julian P Thomas was a man best avoided.

UNIDENTIFIED PROPELLOR TRICYCLE: 1910?

Left: Unidentified propellor tricycle: 1910? This three-wheeler is of unknown origin. The propellor is run at a lower speed than the engine by means of a belt and pulleys. An image search has yielded nothing.

UNKNOWN GERMAN PROPELLOR TRICYCLE: 1910?

Left: Unknown German propellor tricycle: 1910? This three-wheeled machine is currently mysterious. It is certainly German (or possibly Austrian) because the sign on the back says probewagen, ie 'test-car' in Fraktur script. The design of the engine suggests around 1910. It is a V-2, driving the propellor directly. The two boards either side of the propellor are presumably a rudimentary prop-guard; I am not impressed. A reverse image-search with Google reveals nothing.

Left: Overland propellor car: 1910 This propcar (a modified Overland) appeared at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the the June 1910 aviation meeting. It was built by Overland for promotional purpose. It had an 8-foot diameter propellor and was reported to have reached 53 mph. Once again, an early use of the phrase 'Wind-Wagon'. More info here. Apologies for poor picture quality.

Left: Overland propellor car: 1910 This is a better version of the above picture, but with the spectators in the background retouched out.

Left: Overland propellor car: 1910 Presumably this photo was taken at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The propellor is different. The driver does not look confident.

Left: The ABC propellor test car: 1911 This car was built, not as a transportation device in its own right, but to test aeroplane propellors. The one shown was designed by a Mr Lang, seen here seated beside the driver, Mr Charteris. It is shown here at the Brooklands motor circuit, having driven there from Southampton by propeller-power only in the early hours of the morning, a time no doubt chosen to minimise the number of other road users minced by the wholly unguarded propellor. It is hard to see how that can have been been legal. Fom Flight 27 May 1911

Left: Auto-aero prop-car: 1912 This machine was designed by Count Bertrand de Lesseps, a son of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who developed the Suez canal. He stands here on borrowed time; he was killed in the First World War. The lugubrious chap to the left of the car appears to be holding a spare propellor. Objections were that the acceleration was leisurely, there was no engine braking, and the noise level was too high; objections applicable to all prop-cars. Not to mention the horrible danger from that vestigially-guarded propellor.

Left: Cros French Army prop-car: 1912 This propcar was invented by Corporal Gustave Cros; it was intended for crossing the sandy deserts that made up much of France's north African colonies. Sauterelle is the French word for grasshopper, and it appears the machine proceeded in a series of jumps, which supposedly allowed it to cross sand dunes. If that is true, it does not seem a sound way of proceeding. Features include an unusual 6-wheel configuration, with the four back wheels in tiltable pairs, presumably to aid crossing rough ground, and two bucket seats on outriggers. The seven-cylinder engine at first looks a bit inscrutable, having the propellor apparently fitted on the wrong side of the engine. The explanation is almost certainly that it is a rotary engine, in which the engine and propellor go round together, but the crankshaft is rigidly fixed to the chassis; the date fits in with the period of popularity of rotary engines. They were later dropped because of their inherent limitations. Source: unknown

Left: Cros French Army prop-car: 1912 A larger version of the picture above. A mound of sand has been built to demonstrate the flexibility of the rear wheel arrangement. Source: unknown

Left: Cros French Army prop-car: 1912 This version of the Cros propcar has gained a rudimentary body, and a four-bladed propellor mounted more conventionally on the engine. It also appear that each tyre has been doubled, giving a total of 12 wheels on the sand.

Left: French Army prop-cars: 1914 This extract from L'Automobile Coloniale gives a plan view of the Clos propcar, and also mentions the machine of Lieutenant La Fargue, with its six-bladed propellor; see it in the next section. Source: L'Automobile Coloniale: and Stories of Raids Automobile Saharien.

Left: Cros French Army prop-car: 1913 The caption says General Bailloud is being rushed from Biskra to Toggoroui. The only candidate found is General Maurice Bailloud, who was stationed in Algeria from 1902 to 1906; he retired from the army in 1912. Perhaps he was keeping up an interest in colonial transport in retirement. The locals are not impressed. Sauterelle means "grasshopper". Source: Le Petit Journal 5 January 1913

Left: The cover of L'Automobile Coloniale: 19?? Marcel Jandau has his name on the front and was presumably the author; he is unknown to Google. Date of publication unknown. This is believed to come from L'Automobile Coloniale: “We left Biskra with Corporal Dewoitine as a mechanic, and took hours to reach Touggourt, averaging 50kph, despite a trail of frightful ruts. Our arrival was all the more sensational than in an airplane because I drove right down the main street in a torrent of dust, skimming past walls and passers-by with with my propeller, causing burnous, guenours and chèches to fly in all directions. It was a beautiful panic!" "The two adventurers quickly left Touggourt in a cloud of dust, heading for Ouargla, but the infernal locust began to show its first signs of fatigue: sand gnawed the leading edge of the propeller and the engine dropped to half power. De La Fargue ordered Dewoitine to head for Square Bresson, a junction and small oasis 50km away.”

Left: French Army prop-car: 1914 This adaption was intended for easy travel over sand in the French African colonies. It had a truly enormous unguarded propellor; just reversing towards the enemy should frighten them off. But I see no sign of reversible-pitch propellor blades so going backwards was presumably not possible- unless of course the conventional drive to rear wheels was retained. Its practicality is highly doubtful; it would raise an enormous cloud of dust behind it which would make it impossible for another vehicle to follow it. The dust cloud would also give away its position. Something like a sandworm. This machine was built by a Lieutenant La Fargue.

Left: Sizaire-Berwick Wind Wagon: 1915 The "Wind Wagon" was a 1915 conversion of a Sizaire-Berwick car. It was a British Admiralty experiment, that like the French Army prop-car above, was intended to solve traction problems on sand in Africa and the Near East. Only one prototype was made, and it was only ever tested in England, which seems to indicate the results were not promising. A 110hp Sunbeam aircraft engine was installed, angled to give some down-thrust. The 'armor' was ordinary steel plate. There was room for 2 crew members and it carried a 0.303 calibre Vickers machine gun. Length was 170", width 67", height 78", and the weight about 8800 lbs. This appears to be the only photograph in existence. Sizaire-Berwick was an Anglo-French car manufacturer active between 1913 and 1927. There are instructions on modelling the Wind-Wagon on YouTube.

Left: A early Helica: 1913 design. This is a three-wheeled two-seater. Note the complete absence of any guard for the propellor; it is difficult to believe this would have been street-legal. The engine appears to be a V-twin.

Left: An Helica: 1914 model, called "The Helicocycle" . This model has gained a wooden shroud around the propellor, presumably for safety reasons. I Am Not An Aerodynamicist, but it looks too short to give a ducted-fan effect, which would have improved propulsion efficiency over an open propellor. There also appears to be a wire guard over the front of the propellor, which is again two-bladed in this version. Still a three-wheeler.

Only two Helicas survive. Here they are:

Left: A surviving Helica in CNAM: 1921 model. This four wheeled Helica belonged to Gustave Courau. It was donated to the CNAM Museum in Paris in 1931, and is still on show there. CNAM is the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, a very fine museum frequented by concept car enthusiasts, overall Parts Geek admirers and even just the casual car lover. Note the propellor is now four bladed, possibly to reduce noise and vibration. According to the notice attached by the museum, this Helica was capable of "rapidly achieving a good 70 kph" but this is only 43 mph, unimpressive even for its day. The notice also says that the Helica did not succeed because the propellor wash was too uncomfortable for the occupants. Since even the versions with a roof seem to lack a windscreen, this was almost certainly a contributing factor; however what killed it off was the general impractability of the whole concept.

Left: A surviving Helica in CNAM: 1921 model. Another view. The passenger gets a rudimentary windscreen, but not the driver. Note "La Gellicyne" is written on the side. For a long time its meaning was obscure, but one of my correspondents informs me it's an advetisement for a brand of cosmetic cream. Computer enhancement shows "Pour les mains. Pour le visage" ("For the Hands. For the Face") in very faded lettering below "La Gellicyne" .

Left: A surviving Helica in CNAM: 1921 model. The engine. I could not see any maker's name. It is an air-cooled horizontally opposed twin, with pushrod valves and magneto ignition. The propellor is directly-driven. The two curved pipes direct the exhaust to the underside of the Helica.

Left: The only running Helica, seen under power at Goodwood racetrack (Britain) in July 2003. This Helica is owned by Jean Francois Bouzanquet of Paris. It was bought new by his grandfather in 1922, and it has been in the family ever since. The engine is a British two-cylinder ABC of 1203 cc, driving a 4.5 foot diameter wooden propeller; maximum speed is about 60mph, which is a good deal faster than the Helica in CNAM.

Left: The only running Helica at Goodwood in July 2003. The steering wheel operates the rear wheels by wires, which can, according to the owner, be 'interesting'.

Left: The only running Helica at Goodwood in July 2003. The Bouzanquet Helica is said to be in original condition except for a replacement propeller. In WW2 the German forces attempted to commandeer the vehicle. Confused by the steering system, the driver turned right instead of left, hitting a tree and breaking the propeller. The exhaust silencing arrangements look rather rudimentary.

Left: The only running Helica at Goodwood in July 2003. The replacement propellor is two-bladed.

Left: The Joe Baird Wind-Wagon: 1931 Note the radiator is mounted sideways. Source: unknown, but clearly from Popular Mechanix or a similiar magazine. Date speculative

Left: The Joe Baird Wind-Wagon: 1931 The same photograph but with a few more details. The year is now known to be 1931. Source: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4th October 1931

Left: The Juergens propcar: 1936 This one-off prop-car was tested in Detroit, with a hefty 100 HP engine driving the prop. Note that all the performance claims are 'expected', so the testing can't have been very thorough at this point. As usual there are quite unrealistic claims made for speed and economy. In particular I don't believe that the propellor provided four times the "forward drive" of a conventional rear axle. There is also the usual claim that the machine is great for moving through mud or snow, but this overlooks the fact that having some steering and braking capability would be rather desirable. The idea of obtaining downforce by sloping the front is ingenious, but it is not mentioned in the patent; the sloping front was intended to reduce wind-resistance. Note that a new version is planned which 'will be able to attain a top speed of almost two miles a minute without leaving the road or overturning', which is typical of the wild claims made for unconventional cars. I am much reassured about not overturning at 120 mph... Source: Popular Science, Dec 1932

Left: The Juergens propcar patent: 1936 The engine 10 was a four-cylinder inverted type, as often used in aeroplanes as it gave a better forward view.

Left: The Schlörwagen prop-car: 1936 The Schlörwagen Pillbug was a prototype highly-aerodynamic rear-engined car developed by German engineer Karl Schlör (1911–1997) in 1936. In English a pillbug is basically a woodlouse, which has a similiar body shape. There is a Wikipedia page. Initial wind tunnel tests on the unengined body gave an extraordinarily low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.113. It was then fitted with a conventional rear engine, which degraded the Cd slightly, probably because of shape changes at the rear to accomodate the engine. It was exhibited at the 1939 Berlin Auto Show. The design had stability issues with crosswinds probably due to the engine position which was well behind the rear wheels. The project was shelved with the onset of WW2. In 1942, the Schlörwagen prototype had somehow gotten into Russian hands; it was fitted with an Soviet radial air-cooled aero-engine which appears to have developed 100 or 125 hp, driving a ducted fan. Several references say it was a five-cylinder engine, but in this view three or four cylinders are visible, which suggests it was actually a seven-cylinder engine. Why this conversion was made is unknown, but the Russians have always been keen to put propellors on things, including sledges. It certainly makes most of the other prop-cars look very amateur.

Left: The Gru vehicle: 2010 It took me a little while to work out what the Schlörwagen reminded me of; Gru's car/plane/whatever from Despicable Me.

Left: The Schlörwagen prop-car: 1936 Here is the Schlörwagen in the first phase of its career, without a propellor.

Left: The Schlörwagen prop-car: 1936 These drawings of the original non-prop Schlörwagen show it was a seven-seater; the driver sat centrally at the front. Note how the engine is mounted well behind the back axle.

Left: The Schlörwagen prop-car: 1936 The central driver's position, between the two front wheel-arches. These are large as they need to give room for steering movements of the wheels.

Left: The Argentine Aerocar: 1955 There seems to be no hint of a propellor guard. Needless to say, large numbers were not produced in the USA. This prop-car was built by Eugenio Grosovich and Gianfranco Bricci. It appears to have been built from scratch rather than by modification of a conventional car. It was equipped with a Chevrolet straight-six engine of 90 HP mounted above the rear axle; this appears to have been conventionally water-cooled though it is not clear where the radiator was mounted. Power was routed to the propeller through six parallel belts of trapezoidal section. The two-bladed propeller had an angle of attack of 9 degrees (? This is a Google translation from Spanish) and was of five feet diameter; as the blade shape suggests, it was cut down from a larger original. As with all prop-cars, acceleration from rest was poor, and it took a long time to reach 60 km/h but after that accelerated much more rapidly to 160 km/h. This image from Mechanix Illustrated for October 1955

Left: The FE1 X1: 1968 This remarkable prop-car was constructed at the Centro Universitario da Fei in Brazil. This car is not only prop-driven, but is also allegedly amphibous. There is a YouTube video of the car on display. There is also YouTube video of the car in motion. (starts at 1:04) It is a touch on the dubious side because in many of the sequences the car is moving along with the propellor stationary or barely moving. Probably it is running downhill... There are no scenes of it afloat. The rear-mounted Gordini engine was a 4-cylinder water-cooled unit of 848 cc, with a power output of 40 HP, driving the propellor by belt, with a reduction ratio of about 2:1. Claimed top speeds: 150 km/h (93 mph)on road, 20 km/h(12 mph) on water.

The car appears to have three wheels but actually there are two very small wheels at the front, on a very short axle; they appear to have solid tyres. This axle is swivelled by a tiller for steering. It looks more like something on a shopping trolley rather than a serious suspension system and it is in no way suitable for travelling at 93 mph.

Car dimensions: Length 3820 mm. Width 1480 mm. Height 1400 mm. Wheelbase 2000 mm. Weight: 400 kg.