Blastolene Special

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1 The Blastolene Special
2 History
3 Interesting Facts
4 Specifications
5 References
6 External links

[edit] The Blastolene Special

Created from a military tank engine, aluminium and wood^[1], the Blastolene Special produces 810bhp (@2800rpm) and 1560 pound-feet (@2400rpm) of torque^[2]. The car weighs 4,300kg (9500 pounds) which is 1/11th the weight of the original tank the engine was used^[3].

[edit] History

In 2001 a glass artist named Randy Grubb made the Blastolene Special with a Continental AV-1750-5B ^[2](A huge engine that weighs the same as a Volkswagen Beetle) used in a 51-ton M-47 Patton Tank back in the 1950s, a Greyhound bus transmission and metal for the body. The glass blower figured he made about USD$125,000 selling it to Jay Leno to put into the extensive collection of cars he owns (84 cars and 73 motorcycles as of April 11, 2006 ^[4]).

After purchasing the car, Jay Leno made numerous enhancements to the vehicle including new gearbox (six speed Allison automatic), rear brakes, new electrical system, chassis work.^[3]

[edit] Interesting Facts

Introduced as "The Jay Leno Tank Car" on Gran Turismo 4, it ended up in the game "by accident" when the game development team visited Jay's garage for some engine noises. They noticed the car and were so amazed they put it in the game.^[5]
During one of the first freeway test drives an unsuitable oil line blew and dumped the entire 17 gallons of oil onto the road^[5]
The car gets 5 miles per gallon (up from the original performance of 2-3 miles per gallon)^[2]
The engine red-lines at 2,900 RPM
Jay Leno brought the car on his show when interviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger and introduced it as "The Terminator car".^[3]