Jay Leno Shows Off A Car That Can Run On Tequila And Perfume, Sounds Like A Giant Vacuum Cleaner

If you’ve ever wondered what the weirdest car ever built looks like, leave it to Jay Leno to casually roll up with something that sounds like it belongs in an airport runway instead of a garage.

The former late-night host recently pulled out one of the strangest vehicles ever produced, the legendary 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, and it’s basically the automotive equivalent of a science experiment.

First off, this thing doesn’t have a normal engine.

No pistons.
No rumbling V8.
No muscle car roar.

Instead, it runs on a jet-style turbine, which means when you start it up it doesn’t sound like a car at all. It literally sounds like someone just fired up a giant industrial vacuum cleaner.

Seriously, if you closed your eyes you’d think someone was cleaning the world’s largest living room.

But the sound is only the beginning of the weirdness.

At one point Leno puts a bottle of water directly on top of the engine while the car is running. Normally you’d expect the thing to vibrate like crazy.

Instead, the water barely moves.

That’s because turbine engines run incredibly smooth compared to piston engines, so while the turbine inside is spinning like crazy, the outside of the engine barely vibrates at all.

Which is both impressive and slightly unsettling when you realize you’re basically standing next to what is essentially a jet engine inside a car.

Then comes the part that really melts people’s brains.

The turbine engine in this car can run on almost anything that burns.

We’re talking:

• Diesel
• Kerosene
• Jet fuel
• Heating oil
• Cooking oil

And according to Leno, the experiments got even weirder when Chrysler was testing the car around the world.

When they brought the car to Mexico, they reportedly ran it on tequila.

When they brought it to France, they filled the tank with Chanel No.5 perfume.

Imagine pulling up to the gas station and instead of unleaded you’re just dumping a bottle of Chanel into the tank like you’re getting ready for date night.

Unfortunately for the world’s weirdest car enthusiasts, the turbine experiment didn’t last forever.

Chrysler only built 55 of these cars, and most of them were eventually destroyed after the testing program ended. Today, it’s believed that only about nine examples still exist, making them one of the rarest American cars ever made.

Which means if Jay Leno pulls up next to you in traffic with something that sounds like a vacuum cleaner and smells faintly like tequila and French perfume, don’t panic.

You’re just looking at one of the strangest machines the auto industry ever produced.