I've written a thing or two about Turbonique, the greatest speed equipment manufacturing company of all time. You might remember this excerpt from the 1965 Turbonique catalog displaying a go-kart rigged with two Turbonique rocket thrust engines:
"TOO MUCH: The above cart, which is equipped with T-21-A engines, is considered unsafe for 1/4 mile competition as pictured. The thrust/weight ratio is such that speeds over 160 mph are reached within 4 seconds."
Well, over the transom this morning came an email from the current owner of the legendary "Too Much" Turbonique kart, and I am delighted to inform you that it is alive and well, in storage somewhere on the coast. Behold the photographic evidence.
Sweet holy Moses... imagine being strapped to that at 160 mph.
The owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent along some other hair-raising stories about this jawdropping artifact of automotive excess, but cautions that like most tales of Turbonique, it's hard to distill truth from urban legend. I'll try to verify some of them. What is known is that Too Much was originally built by an East coast guy named Bob Rapp with an assist from the Turbonique factory. More soon including bigger pics and vintage video.
this must be the small, compact, efficient next generation car that "they" were talking about in the debate tonight. Surely carbon neutral, or something, so i gotta have it...
Posted by: Scott Noteboom | October 16, 2008 at 12:06 AM
The cart's oxygen cylinder probably has "SCOTT" embossed on it. I was at the "Corrosion Corner" part of the Miami airport and there was a pile of surplus Pan American walk around oxygen bottles still charged, but out of date. I bought the whole pile and stuffed them into a Corvette. On the way back I stopped in Orlando and Gene Middlebrooks (Turbonique) took about half of them. It wasn't fun driving as the whole load would roll around with the slightest change in direction. Had a valve broken it would have been interesting. I still have four, full of oxygen.
Posted by: HW | October 17, 2008 at 09:57 PM
Heck yea. I may be gettin old, but I remember reading and dreaming about that kart. 65 was the hey day for karting, so anything new came out in print, us kids were on top of it. Thanks for reviving a little testosterone. A "blast" from the past. Now, anyone know of that v8 powered snow machine from the cover of PM circa 67/68?
Posted by: John | April 20, 2010 at 12:46 AM
A go-kart in the back of an old pick up caught my attention one day. I could tell right away that it was rocket powered, just buy the look of it. When I asked the young driver of the truck about his cargo he replied that it had been his grandpa's and that he and his dad had just had it out for a test run and that they had got it up to 120 mph. I asked if it was a Hydrogen Peroxide powered system and he said no. It is a Turbonique liquid fuel system. That was the first and probably the last time that I imagine I will ever see one. It was in Wetaskiwin, Alberta Canada back in the spring of 1992.
Posted by: Jay Perry | June 21, 2012 at 06:46 PM