Cadillac EcoJet Concept

Cadillac EcoJet Concept front angle view

Cadillac EcoJet Concept front side view

Cadillac EcoJet Concept front view

Cadillac EcoJet Concept rear view

Cadillac EcoJet Concept wheel view

Cadillac EcoJet Concept front light view

What would keep a group of automotive designers up all night? “Tonight Show” Jay Leno, for starters, butnot by his monologue or parade of Hollywood guests. This time it is because the late-night talk show,General Motors Advanced Design Studio to help design ecoJet a mid-engine, turbine-powered supercar called.Leno and Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design introduced to show the car at the 2006 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA).Ecojet genesis goes back to a discussion between Leno, an avid car enthusiast and collector, and Bernard Juchli, the chief engineer and director of Leno’s collection. Leno then turned to Welburn for design direction.”A couple of napkins later, Ed had begun to grasp the essence of the car cover,” said Leno. “I admire the work of GM Design Studio in North Hollywood, California, and asked whether to continue the Studio Eddirector, Frank Saucedo, and his boys, the design study,”Welburn agreed, and a two-week sketching frenzy commenced as GM’s designers began after the Clock with Leno’s team on the project.”The aesthetics were driven by Ecojet, air and jet-age influences authorities,” said Welburn. “APurpose-Driven Design, performance is mediated, capability and even danger, with a touch of refined language of the 2006 Cadillac EcoJet Concept.”Borrowing design elements from jet aircraft and Formula One race car, began to take shape of the supersports cars under the watchful eyes of Leno and Welburn. A concurrent engineering program defined the vehicle’s proportions and mechanics.Leno Juchli ecoJet called and the entire Big Dog team at his garage on the vision a reality.”We thought we pushed the envelope with the ’66 twin turbo Tornado creative project with GM, but this turbine-powered monster is a whole new level of complexity,” says Juchli, who built the car at Leno’s facility.The 650-hp (400 lb-ft of torque) Leno Original powered by a Honeywell LT-101 turbine engine running on bio-diesel. The engine sits in a modified Corvette Z06 hydro formed aluminum frame with aluminum and magnesium structural and chassis components. The vehicle is Shell is an advanced construction of carbon fiber or Kevlar.

Pictures Gallery :
(click to enlarge)