Folks Of Interest Worlds First Rocket Car

Cool! That's got Wile E. Coyote written all over it.

 

Nah, can't be, it doesn't say Acme on it anywhere.

 

Sehr gut! would we call it a raketenauto? German class was a long time ago!

 

Where are all the great photo shoppers when you need them? HRP

 

A video would be soooo cool.

Roger

 

This is the best I can do. HRP

 

Fast forward to 1:43

 

Don't forget, it was Wile E. Coyote...Super Genius.




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Sorry Steffen, carry on.


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Wile E is cheating he is wearing a helmet.

 

Wouldn't that have got the adrenaline going...
So some of you guys remember your cartoons well...
Joking aside Steffen how fast did this Hotrod go (no pun intended)?
It is not the same Car as the Video TFever posted...




Credit to Artists Owners, Photographers
& Original Posters

Info found...

https://opelpost.com/03/2014/the-first-launch/
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Please! The colours are too bright.
I think it must be more "vintage" in a strictly Pre-65 form.

 

Stogy, at 11. April 1928 in 8 sec to 63 mph.
No it's not the car in the movie. This one was the first.
The car in the movie ist the second version.
It made 148 mph:
Here's the story for you in english >>>>

 

This was 1928!
And already at this time the driver Fritz Opel talked about the possibility to fly to the moon!

 

So Steffen this wild machine did approx 75mph by the article I posted the link to. Sounds as if that was only due to several things not going as planned as in rockets not firing. They just gave up on it like that? I know they did a second version but why not work out the bugs. I guess they had that Rak 2 pretty much ready to go too.

Pretty cool stuff. It was an incredible design period for sure.

Man these things generated a lot of mist or smoke.

Wikipedia has got the speed of this car mixed up I think.

 

I noticed the air foils . That might be the first time that thay we used on a car, If every one recalls that The Mad Dog car that set the Daytona Speedway record added side air foils after the car not having enough down force. I have a old German friend { Von Brahn co worker} Who might know a little about this car. he said that all the boys in his school science club were into rockets. Last Andy Granitelly had a rocket car maybe he got the idear from opel.

 

Much better!

 

They did many more versions. No one was giving up.
They also made the first rocket air plane!

"The rocket gives the possibility to reach neighboring luminaries, but it's´not clear, what we shall do of all things on the moon."
Fritz Opel, 1928

Look carefully at the Rak2 air foils - they are wrong and will give NO downforce! They are like on an airplane and would HELP to take off and not to prevent it. A mistake in the beginning of aerodynamics ...

One of the boys who were into rockets in 1928 was https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
They all were inspired by the OPEL demonstration on the Avus.

 

World first rocket flight!

 

And here we go with rocket-bikes:
http://www.ridingvintage.com/2013/10/the-1928-opel-rocket-powered-motorcycle.html

 

1920's the creativity of the Germans were decades ahead of the time.
This was a mere 20 years after human kind even went airborne in any machine.

 

The best rocket car story is by Andy Granatelli in his autobiography "They Call Me Mr. 500". Him and his brothers got some surplus rocket motors and installed them on the back of a car. It's worth the read for sure - I'll see if I can scan it when I get home tonight.

 

Not to take away from Steffen's post...just posting related automobilia which was no doubt influenced by former adventures in same...Wild times for sure...

Hey K9 if that Von Brahn (is this a typo?) you know or knew was the same one as posted by Steffen he was quite well traveled and an absolute genious. If not this is not to say your friend was not equally smart by any means. This Braun fellow spent a great deal of his life in the USA.

http://racingnation.com/andy-granatelli-they-called-him-mister-500/
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_924039-Grancor-Rocket-Firebug-1946.html
http://www.tomstrongman.com/ClassicCars/RocketCar/Index.htm









http://winfield.50megs.com/JetCar.htm

Credit to Artists Owners, Photographers
& Original Posters


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very cool videos Steffen. are these some of your work and is that you narrating ?

 

The exploding rail car is more like an ACME ride! Gary