The Art of Engineering: A Conversation with Gordon Murray

Gordon Murray is a renowned engineer and designer who has left an indelible mark on the world of automotive engineering. With a career spanning over four decades, he has been involved in some of the most iconic and influential projects in the history of motorsports. In this article, we take a closer look at Gordon Murray's thoughts on design, innovation, and his latest passion project - a jet-powered motorcycle.

The Design Philosophy of Gordon Murray

When it comes to design, Gordon Murray is known for his unique approach. He has always believed that simplicity is key, and that functionality should never compromise form. One of the most notable examples of this philosophy in action is the F1 car's round tail light. According to Gordon, "it just makes sense" - a simple, yet elegant design that has become synonymous with his brand. The use of circles and curves in his designs is not just aesthetically pleasing, but also serves a practical purpose. As Gordon explains, "they always grow these crazy things all the time, but yeah it just looks great."

The Allison Engine: A Tried and True marvel

Gordon Murray's passion for engines is well-known, and his fondness for the Allison engine is no exception. This tried and true marvel has been used in over 30,000 applications, from helicopters to oil rigs, and has proven itself to be a reliable and durable workhorse. When asked about the Allison engine, Gordon gushes about its capabilities, "this thing makes just the greatest howl when she's running flat out really does." The engine's longevity is also worth noting, as it can easily be rebuilt rather than replaced, making it an economical option for operators.

The Electric Revolution: A Shift Towards a Smoother Ride

As we move into the modern era of motorsports, there is a growing trend towards electric powertrains. Gordon Murray's latest project, a jet-powered motorcycle, is a prime example of this shift. The bike features an electric reverse gear, a nod to the futuristic thinking that has always characterized Gordon's designs. As he explains, "everybody's going electric and BMW and motorcycles those have an electric rear backup too so that's kind of an interesting thing."

A Conversation with Bob Lutz: A Jet-Powered Motorcycle Ride

We were joined by Bob Lutz, a well-known engineer and former CEO of General Motors, for a thrilling ride in Gordon Murray's jet-powered motorcycle. As we set off, Bob couldn't help but comment on the heat emanating from the bike's engine, "there's a lot of heat coming out the top of that you're probably looking at 1400 degrees." The adrenaline-fueled ride was a thrill for all involved, with Gordon remarking, "it's it's actually compared to a race car where you're constantly shifting on it's the the power is so linear it's so smooth it just pulls constantly."

The Legacy of Bob Lutz: A Conversation with Gordon Murray

As we pulled back into the garage after our thrilling ride, Bob couldn't help but reminisce about his own experiences with high-performance vehicles. He mentioned the iconic McLaren Arturo, which features an electric powertrain and no gearbox. Gordon smiled, acknowledging that he had built this car, and nodded in agreement that "everybody's going electric." The conversation was a testament to the enduring legacy of Bob Lutz, who has left an indelible mark on the world of motorsports.

A Conversation with Matt Costantino: History Meets Innovation

We were joined by Matt Costantino, historian and turbine expert, for a fascinating discussion about the intersection of history and innovation. As we chatted with Gordon Murray, Matt shared his own insights on the importance of learning from the past, "you know something it's it's actually compared to a race car where you're constantly shifting on it's the the power is so linear it's so smooth it just pulls constantly." The conversation was a reminder that innovation often builds upon existing knowledge and experience.

A Conversation with Steve Stratos: A Turbine Expert Weighs In

We were joined by Steve Stratos, turbine expert, for a thought-provoking discussion about the world of engines and turbines. As we set off in Gordon Murray's jet-powered motorcycle, Steve shared his expertise on the inner workings of these complex systems. "the low end is where you you if you slow down that's where you're in trouble," he warned, as we hit the open road.

The Man Behind the Jet-Powered Motorcycle: A Conversation with Bob

As we came to a stop after our thrilling ride, Gordon Murray turned to us and smiled, "I hope you guys enjoyed this ride as much as I did." The man behind the jet-powered motorcycle is a true legend in his own right, with a career spanning over four decades. From designing iconic F1 cars to building high-performance motorcycles, Gordon has always pushed the boundaries of what's possible.

Conclusion

As we conclude this article, we are left with a sense of awe and appreciation for the innovative spirit that drives Gordon Murray forward. His passion for design, innovation, and engineering is an inspiration to us all, reminding us that even in the most unlikely places, creativity and imagination can thrive. Whether it's the Allison engine or his latest jet-powered motorcycle project, Gordon Murray is a true master of his craft.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enSteve you ready to go ready to go let's turn on power pedal down very smooth I can tell my wife I'm not on the jet motorcycle anymore honey I'm driving a car now instead don't be afraid to open it up on the way back if you want we have race car royalty here today this is a helmet TX 1968. this is a Turman powered or jet powered if you prefer a turbine is really what it is which is also a jet so hey it's all the same thing I remember this car when I was a kid the man who designed it is here it's owned by uh Philip seraphin our good friend who's been here before with the Myers Max uh it's a running car and uh we're gonna drive it today which is pretty exciting uh Philip Bob come on in guys how are you hi Jay thanks for having us and I know Bob is Madonna So Philip give us some of his credits well Bob is an incredible design and Engineering luminary famous for his Can-Am cars but prior to the how many TX he also created a diesel electric hybrid for for the Humvee for the armed forces and this was years before anybody is doing that years before anybody was doing it and he electrified vehicles for Hyundai and other big oems and it has many patents around electrification he also did an incredible three-wheel vehicle kind of like the American Morgan called the trihawk oh the trihawk sure I remember that was a Citron engine right yeah that was a that was a Harley-Davidson marketed that yeah they ended up buying it yeah they didn't do a very good job marketing because it was I drove one I thought it was fabulous to drive it was really a wonderful vehicle and it was light and quick and terrific and you designed this as well correct a beautiful style did you do the body too yes well it really I think it's a great looking car really fantastic I think this has the fenders of a Can-Am car right of our Can-Am car and uh 906 Porsche windshield the Porsche windshield was the smallest one that was legal to run at Le Mans France with the regulations fie has that dictated a lot of the car and we put the fenders on and then just connected it all together and this is what you end up with what made you run with a turbine I mean I understand sort of but well we were in the business to build things and Ray heppenstall got some money from halmet as sponsorship and they baked turbine engine parts and uh won the turbine engine in it so that sounded like an interesting project and we did it in the 60s turbines were another alternative a lot of companies Chrysler had the Chrysler turbine car which I have one which was fabulous Ford built a huge turbine truck right that was a a full-length uh like 18 wheeler yeah 18-wheeler so the turbines were seen as it might be an interesting alternative so it's not like this just came out of the blue everybody was thinking oh we'll be driving jet cars in the future you know popular in two years it's coming you know all that kind of stuff because the engine in this I believe is the same engine I have on my motorcycle isn't that great that's correct okay yeah because it just and that's pretty quick what's the fastest this has run I think it's been running 180 690 miles an hour right at Le Mans and classic in France now is that where the gearbox is it just straight yeah that's uh it's this one speed right but we can adjust the top ratio by changing the quick change gears so right you can optimize the performance with the engine and you just run on jet a yes very nice it's such a cool looking vehicle magnesium Wheels all the race car stuff right period who made these with these magnesium brand that makes all the Indianapolis car wheels and he kind of pioneered the Magnesium wheels for race cars and they've been used on airplanes during World War II and what is this way about 1750 pounds because I know the engine itself 135 pounds something like that 175 pounds 175 I remember taking it out you know and put it on the bench you know it's pretty cool pretty easy so that that's pretty light as far as the cars go all aluminum body yes yes except for the fenders those are fiberglass period disc brakes we've used the uh Kelsey Hayes breaks off the GT40 Ford because with the turbine engine you don't have compression that won't slow down so you need really big brakes on it to do that what did you sell these for in 1968 10 500 we built it for I'll give you twice that right now they've appreciated a little bit since then yeah wow how many did you build for oh they're worth oh okay I didn't realize that did they go out to privateers or did you keep them all actually the first two were completed and running then they we built a spare chassis for homemade and then we built another one uh several years later that's now running in France with a guy that runs the lens classic and I'm bowling all the other tracks in your Europe and the other three all look like this same body yes one of them had had a spider body at one point in time after a crashed uh that body that car has since been re reconstructed in Coop form well it's a Classic 60s look which I like so I think yeah I kind of like that heroin all four wheels are kind of the same size obviously a little bit bigger but there's just a sense of balance like when you see the original Ford GT with the with the wire wheels with the brownies on it you know you kind of I just like the way they yeah those those mark one road cars yeah they're incredible it's 1750 pounds that's pretty amazing because well you've got no cooling system right you just no Save A Lot we have an oil cooler on it to cool the oil and it's a dry sump system so that helps cool the engine down so you're you're turning 60 70 000 RPM in the turbine and it's down to what 4500 RPM it's fine yeah well this is a two spool turbine so you've got the compressor turbine in front right and then that's working like a torque converter right so you can start from a dead stop yeah now acceleration was not the key with these like on my motorcycle in an eighth mile race I would lose in a quarter mile I blow the guy's doors out because once you hit 70 80 90 percent of the turbine it's Hold On Tight just pulling so hard I mean we try broke the swing arm on mine it just putting the power down to it I mean it's pretty crazy it's pretty crazy so all four cars exist still they still exist amazingly oh that's great because they were built 55 years ago I know and I mean old race cars there's nothing more disposable in the old days oh yeah you'd give them away you throw it away or you Salvage it for whatever part you could use I mean just the fact that after its sort of race life was over it was still seen as something special because it's one of those things people always wanted to see there's something about a jet on the street that makes people just who what's that you think of Batman and all that kind of stuff you know well this is the only turbine powered car to have won a race which holds six International records yeah two turbine right two races in this country they were inconsequential races compared to Indianapolis and whatnot where purnelli LED with the turban car and he he just had a bearing fail yeah three laps away from finish I know it's not something yeah I know it's not something and how smooth I mean it must be pretty smooth to drive as a race car isn't it yes but it's different because there's a hesitation a little bit like spooling up a turbocharged engine well the thing I always find with my motorcycle the scariest part is there's a hesitation on leaving you turn the throttle one two and then you go and when you turn the throttle off it's one two so when you're bearing down on somebody you shed the throttle I mean you're still pulling for a good second and a half maybe two seconds and yeah it takes getting used to yeah I always learned I think I so like somebody's going to pull out in front of me way up there I'll shut off now and yeah and that's I'm so happy when I get off it because I made it back a lot that's what I enjoy about my Jet bike it's so thrilling to ride but when I get back alive oh that's pretty good yeah I'm not dead it's all right well let's let's open her up and take a look here uh right here you want to open this side too sure yeah here's something that makes me kind of smile notice how the two seats are very close together obviously to get the center of gravity to the center of the car but even on the new Ford GT and stuff when they came out oh look what we did they make it all sound like something new but the old race car guys you know 60 years ago they knew all this so it just makes me laugh that just there's nothing new Under the Sun you know it's kind of fun to see and obviously you didn't race for the second passenger with a passenger but you had to have the rules required two seats right equal side of the center line of the car I remember the old days used to have a spare tire too but yeah there's room for that oh there is okay oh okay I imagine the driver must be reasonably relaxed because in a race like Oman you're doing what seven eight thousand shifts in the 24 hour period and you didn't have to do that here so just kind of drive but you just had to refill the fuel a lot more often didn't you yeah how many gallon tank did you race with 35 was what the rules stated you could use and that will get you about 35 miles 40 but I get what 55 miles maybe yes yeah okay yeah because mine in the motorcycle it eats eight gallons an hour they're thirsty but they put out a lot of horses oh yeah and if you if you wide open with no traffic you can cut a lot you can carry cover a lot of ground I mean mine has been the highest mine has ever been is 237 miles an hour after that it got a little uh dicey well I don't think you'll ride this one no no no today let's come around to the back of the vehicle there's that Pete Brock inspired cam tail on the back there huh yes well by 68 that was fairly common wasn't it oh yes that was race car practice and of course the prettiest tail lights of racing the old Ford Cortina those are Ford Cortina correct right yeah yeah and those were made with how matte aluminum that's one of the reasons we use those tail lights oh I see plus they look great I mean it was on the Ford GT that's what Gordon Murray chose to the round tail light for the F1 it's just something about a round it just makes sense it's easy to understand the circle you know they always grow these crazy things all the time but yeah it just looks great can we open the hood yeah ah there's my motorcycle engine this thing makes just the greatest howl when she's when she's running flat out really does he's Allison engines are tried and true over 30 000 produced you can get them fairly cheap in Louisiana because they use them in all the helicopters for the oil fields oh yeah and rather than rebuild them they just replace them because it's so expensive but might not have any Aerospace life left in it it's got plenty of Road life in it you know after so many miles I got to pull them out of service but that doesn't mean the engine is worn out or it just means it's got to be rebuilt to just buy another one so yeah I've had this is I've had two or three of mine since I since I got it and that's your reverse right there correct yes are they require the reverse so we put an electric reverse in this one well that's kind of modern too because like the new uh McLaren Arturo that has no gearbox that's electric too everybody's going electric and BMW and motorcycles those have an electric rear back up too so that's kind of an interesting interesting thing your head time Bob you're doing this for everybody else there's a lot of heat coming out the top of that you're probably looking at 1400 degrees Yeah it kind of has the heat waves coming right right yeah yeah I know I remember watching The Tonight Show and you were talking about having your jet powered motorcycle at a red light and a car pulled up behind you yeah and lost all of it's got a Mitsubishi I had a rear view camera and I could see his front bumper It's just melted so I kept creeping forward he kept going what's that I'm going and the heat was the whole plastic front of this car in fact if he's watching I'm sorry he's probably learning that now for the first time well I'm anxious to go for a ride now how are we going to do this you have somebody's going to go with me yeah so we've got uh how Matt custodian historian and turbine expert Steve Stratos here and he he's gonna hop in and very cool go for a spin with you well gentlemen thank you thanks for having us thank you what an honor to meet you sir congratulations you're an engineering Legend so I used to read about you when I was a kid not to age you because I'm 72. so that shows yeah there you go there you go all right very cool let's take this thing for a ride Steve so basically I'm going to turn on power and I'm going to do all the fuel and if there's an issue we take all these three back right cuts off fuel I watch the temperature gauge and make sure it's not up in this red zone but normally we're running in here nine to twelve right Steve you ready to go ready to go let's turn on power hit the starter until this comes up to here and I'll enter this I started here pull it towards me yep go ahead pedal down I think we'll close the doors now okay we're ready to go we're gonna hit the torp and break and I'm gonna put it in gear have somebody push us a little bit all right okay hit the turf okay foreign I can tell my wife I'm not on the jet motorcycle anymore honey I'm driving a car now instead don't be afraid to open it up on the way back if you want foreign you know I told my wife I wouldn't ride the jet motorcycle anymore I I'm driving a car now honey it's also yeah so it's a little bit it's a little bit better but anyway listen I hope you guys enjoyed this ride as much as I did what a thrill but you know something it's it's actually compared to a race car where you're constantly shifting on it's the the power is so linear it's so smooth it just pulls constantly so you're just always going faster and faster because the faster you go the faster you go you know the low end is where you you if you slow down that's where you're in trouble so you just keep your foot in this thing all the time I gotta get back on my Jet bike this is too much fun Steve thank you you're welcome and Bob the great Bob thank you very much he's the man who built this and he also built Paul Newman's race cars didn't he yes he did okay yep in winning you see that name the key you know it's good hey I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did and we'll see you next weekSteve you ready to go ready to go let's turn on power pedal down very smooth I can tell my wife I'm not on the jet motorcycle anymore honey I'm driving a car now instead don't be afraid to open it up on the way back if you want we have race car royalty here today this is a helmet TX 1968. this is a Turman powered or jet powered if you prefer a turbine is really what it is which is also a jet so hey it's all the same thing I remember this car when I was a kid the man who designed it is here it's owned by uh Philip seraphin our good friend who's been here before with the Myers Max uh it's a running car and uh we're gonna drive it today which is pretty exciting uh Philip Bob come on in guys how are you hi Jay thanks for having us and I know Bob is Madonna So Philip give us some of his credits well Bob is an incredible design and Engineering luminary famous for his Can-Am cars but prior to the how many TX he also created a diesel electric hybrid for for the Humvee for the armed forces and this was years before anybody is doing that years before anybody was doing it and he electrified vehicles for Hyundai and other big oems and it has many patents around electrification he also did an incredible three-wheel vehicle kind of like the American Morgan called the trihawk oh the trihawk sure I remember that was a Citron engine right yeah that was a that was a Harley-Davidson marketed that yeah they ended up buying it yeah they didn't do a very good job marketing because it was I drove one I thought it was fabulous to drive it was really a wonderful vehicle and it was light and quick and terrific and you designed this as well correct a beautiful style did you do the body too yes well it really I think it's a great looking car really fantastic I think this has the fenders of a Can-Am car right of our Can-Am car and uh 906 Porsche windshield the Porsche windshield was the smallest one that was legal to run at Le Mans France with the regulations fie has that dictated a lot of the car and we put the fenders on and then just connected it all together and this is what you end up with what made you run with a turbine I mean I understand sort of but well we were in the business to build things and Ray heppenstall got some money from halmet as sponsorship and they baked turbine engine parts and uh won the turbine engine in it so that sounded like an interesting project and we did it in the 60s turbines were another alternative a lot of companies Chrysler had the Chrysler turbine car which I have one which was fabulous Ford built a huge turbine truck right that was a a full-length uh like 18 wheeler yeah 18-wheeler so the turbines were seen as it might be an interesting alternative so it's not like this just came out of the blue everybody was thinking oh we'll be driving jet cars in the future you know popular in two years it's coming you know all that kind of stuff because the engine in this I believe is the same engine I have on my motorcycle isn't that great that's correct okay yeah because it just and that's pretty quick what's the fastest this has run I think it's been running 180 690 miles an hour right at Le Mans and classic in France now is that where the gearbox is it just straight yeah that's uh it's this one speed right but we can adjust the top ratio by changing the quick change gears so right you can optimize the performance with the engine and you just run on jet a yes very nice it's such a cool looking vehicle magnesium Wheels all the race car stuff right period who made these with these magnesium brand that makes all the Indianapolis car wheels and he kind of pioneered the Magnesium wheels for race cars and they've been used on airplanes during World War II and what is this way about 1750 pounds because I know the engine itself 135 pounds something like that 175 pounds 175 I remember taking it out you know and put it on the bench you know it's pretty cool pretty easy so that that's pretty light as far as the cars go all aluminum body yes yes except for the fenders those are fiberglass period disc brakes we've used the uh Kelsey Hayes breaks off the GT40 Ford because with the turbine engine you don't have compression that won't slow down so you need really big brakes on it to do that what did you sell these for in 1968 10 500 we built it for I'll give you twice that right now they've appreciated a little bit since then yeah wow how many did you build for oh they're worth oh okay I didn't realize that did they go out to privateers or did you keep them all actually the first two were completed and running then they we built a spare chassis for homemade and then we built another one uh several years later that's now running in France with a guy that runs the lens classic and I'm bowling all the other tracks in your Europe and the other three all look like this same body yes one of them had had a spider body at one point in time after a crashed uh that body that car has since been re reconstructed in Coop form well it's a Classic 60s look which I like so I think yeah I kind of like that heroin all four wheels are kind of the same size obviously a little bit bigger but there's just a sense of balance like when you see the original Ford GT with the with the wire wheels with the brownies on it you know you kind of I just like the way they yeah those those mark one road cars yeah they're incredible it's 1750 pounds that's pretty amazing because well you've got no cooling system right you just no Save A Lot we have an oil cooler on it to cool the oil and it's a dry sump system so that helps cool the engine down so you're you're turning 60 70 000 RPM in the turbine and it's down to what 4500 RPM it's fine yeah well this is a two spool turbine so you've got the compressor turbine in front right and then that's working like a torque converter right so you can start from a dead stop yeah now acceleration was not the key with these like on my motorcycle in an eighth mile race I would lose in a quarter mile I blow the guy's doors out because once you hit 70 80 90 percent of the turbine it's Hold On Tight just pulling so hard I mean we try broke the swing arm on mine it just putting the power down to it I mean it's pretty crazy it's pretty crazy so all four cars exist still they still exist amazingly oh that's great because they were built 55 years ago I know and I mean old race cars there's nothing more disposable in the old days oh yeah you'd give them away you throw it away or you Salvage it for whatever part you could use I mean just the fact that after its sort of race life was over it was still seen as something special because it's one of those things people always wanted to see there's something about a jet on the street that makes people just who what's that you think of Batman and all that kind of stuff you know well this is the only turbine powered car to have won a race which holds six International records yeah two turbine right two races in this country they were inconsequential races compared to Indianapolis and whatnot where purnelli LED with the turban car and he he just had a bearing fail yeah three laps away from finish I know it's not something yeah I know it's not something and how smooth I mean it must be pretty smooth to drive as a race car isn't it yes but it's different because there's a hesitation a little bit like spooling up a turbocharged engine well the thing I always find with my motorcycle the scariest part is there's a hesitation on leaving you turn the throttle one two and then you go and when you turn the throttle off it's one two so when you're bearing down on somebody you shed the throttle I mean you're still pulling for a good second and a half maybe two seconds and yeah it takes getting used to yeah I always learned I think I so like somebody's going to pull out in front of me way up there I'll shut off now and yeah and that's I'm so happy when I get off it because I made it back a lot that's what I enjoy about my Jet bike it's so thrilling to ride but when I get back alive oh that's pretty good yeah I'm not dead it's all right well let's let's open her up and take a look here uh right here you want to open this side too sure yeah here's something that makes me kind of smile notice how the two seats are very close together obviously to get the center of gravity to the center of the car but even on the new Ford GT and stuff when they came out oh look what we did they make it all sound like something new but the old race car guys you know 60 years ago they knew all this so it just makes me laugh that just there's nothing new Under the Sun you know it's kind of fun to see and obviously you didn't race for the second passenger with a passenger but you had to have the rules required two seats right equal side of the center line of the car I remember the old days used to have a spare tire too but yeah there's room for that oh there is okay oh okay I imagine the driver must be reasonably relaxed because in a race like Oman you're doing what seven eight thousand shifts in the 24 hour period and you didn't have to do that here so just kind of drive but you just had to refill the fuel a lot more often didn't you yeah how many gallon tank did you race with 35 was what the rules stated you could use and that will get you about 35 miles 40 but I get what 55 miles maybe yes yeah okay yeah because mine in the motorcycle it eats eight gallons an hour they're thirsty but they put out a lot of horses oh yeah and if you if you wide open with no traffic you can cut a lot you can carry cover a lot of ground I mean mine has been the highest mine has ever been is 237 miles an hour after that it got a little uh dicey well I don't think you'll ride this one no no no today let's come around to the back of the vehicle there's that Pete Brock inspired cam tail on the back there huh yes well by 68 that was fairly common wasn't it oh yes that was race car practice and of course the prettiest tail lights of racing the old Ford Cortina those are Ford Cortina correct right yeah yeah and those were made with how matte aluminum that's one of the reasons we use those tail lights oh I see plus they look great I mean it was on the Ford GT that's what Gordon Murray chose to the round tail light for the F1 it's just something about a round it just makes sense it's easy to understand the circle you know they always grow these crazy things all the time but yeah it just looks great can we open the hood yeah ah there's my motorcycle engine this thing makes just the greatest howl when she's when she's running flat out really does he's Allison engines are tried and true over 30 000 produced you can get them fairly cheap in Louisiana because they use them in all the helicopters for the oil fields oh yeah and rather than rebuild them they just replace them because it's so expensive but might not have any Aerospace life left in it it's got plenty of Road life in it you know after so many miles I got to pull them out of service but that doesn't mean the engine is worn out or it just means it's got to be rebuilt to just buy another one so yeah I've had this is I've had two or three of mine since I since I got it and that's your reverse right there correct yes are they require the reverse so we put an electric reverse in this one well that's kind of modern too because like the new uh McLaren Arturo that has no gearbox that's electric too everybody's going electric and BMW and motorcycles those have an electric rear back up too so that's kind of an interesting interesting thing your head time Bob you're doing this for everybody else there's a lot of heat coming out the top of that you're probably looking at 1400 degrees Yeah it kind of has the heat waves coming right right yeah yeah I know I remember watching The Tonight Show and you were talking about having your jet powered motorcycle at a red light and a car pulled up behind you yeah and lost all of it's got a Mitsubishi I had a rear view camera and I could see his front bumper It's just melted so I kept creeping forward he kept going what's that I'm going and the heat was the whole plastic front of this car in fact if he's watching I'm sorry he's probably learning that now for the first time well I'm anxious to go for a ride now how are we going to do this you have somebody's going to go with me yeah so we've got uh how Matt custodian historian and turbine expert Steve Stratos here and he he's gonna hop in and very cool go for a spin with you well gentlemen thank you thanks for having us thank you what an honor to meet you sir congratulations you're an engineering Legend so I used to read about you when I was a kid not to age you because I'm 72. so that shows yeah there you go there you go all right very cool let's take this thing for a ride Steve so basically I'm going to turn on power and I'm going to do all the fuel and if there's an issue we take all these three back right cuts off fuel I watch the temperature gauge and make sure it's not up in this red zone but normally we're running in here nine to twelve right Steve you ready to go ready to go let's turn on power hit the starter until this comes up to here and I'll enter this I started here pull it towards me yep go ahead pedal down I think we'll close the doors now okay we're ready to go we're gonna hit the torp and break and I'm gonna put it in gear have somebody push us a little bit all right okay hit the turf okay foreign I can tell my wife I'm not on the jet motorcycle anymore honey I'm driving a car now instead don't be afraid to open it up on the way back if you want foreign you know I told my wife I wouldn't ride the jet motorcycle anymore I I'm driving a car now honey it's also yeah so it's a little bit it's a little bit better but anyway listen I hope you guys enjoyed this ride as much as I did what a thrill but you know something it's it's actually compared to a race car where you're constantly shifting on it's the the power is so linear it's so smooth it just pulls constantly so you're just always going faster and faster because the faster you go the faster you go you know the low end is where you you if you slow down that's where you're in trouble so you just keep your foot in this thing all the time I gotta get back on my Jet bike this is too much fun Steve thank you you're welcome and Bob the great Bob thank you very much he's the man who built this and he also built Paul Newman's race cars didn't he yes he did okay yep in winning you see that name the key you know it's good hey I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did and we'll see you next week\n"