Gas turbine Land Rover and leading electrical machine company SR Drives, is to produce the world’s first commercially viable - and environmentally friendly - gas turbine generator designed specifically for automotive applications. The common turbocharger for gasoline or diesel engines is also a turbine derivative. The first serious investigation of using a gas turbine in cars was in 1946 when two engineers, Robert Kafka and Robert Engerstein of Carney Associates, a New York engineering firm, came up with the concept where a unique compact turbine engine design would provide power for a rear wheel drive car. After an article appeared in "Popular
Gas turbine ordinary turbochargers). This system allows a smaller displacement and lighter engine to be used as the tank's powerplant and effectively removes turbo lag. This special gas turbine/turbocharger can also work independently from the main engine as an ordinary APU. A turbine is theoretically more reliable and easier to maintain than a piston engine since it has a simpler construction with fewer moving parts, but in practice, turbine parts experience a higher wear rate due to their higher working speeds. The turbine blades are highly sensitive to dust and fine sand so that in desert operations air filters have to be