The 1954 Ford Thunderbird Turbine was a highly experimental vehicle that marked Ford’s earliest attempt to package a jet-age gas turbine into a passenger sports car.  In October 1953, Ford took one of its very first pre-production 1955 Thunderbird prototypes (carrying a '4' in the serial number to denote the 1954 build year) and initiated a secret powertrain transformation.  The engine Ford sourced was a Boeing 502-8C turboshaft engine. Boeing only built 17 of these specialized powerplants, most of which were reserved for U.S. Navy minesweeper boats.  Rated at about 300 horsepower - the engine was incredibly light, weighing only around 330 lbs, which gave the car a phenomenal power-to-weight ratio and completely eliminated engine vibration.  However - because the exhaust was routed out just behind the front wheels, it created an incredibly hot cabin.  According to automotive lore, the exhaust heat was so extreme that the car actually set fire to dry grass on the side of the road as it roared past during test runs.
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