The Space Race wasn’t limited to just actual astronauts and national space programs competing for the Milky Way. So many industries did their own things to become involved. It was an exciting time, and few industries strived so hard to look the part of the future than the American automobile industry. These efforts trickled throughout the community, including the builders of customs and race cars. One of the most outspoken of those has to be the Turbo-Sonic. Co-owned by R.E. Barrett, it was designed, engineered, styled and built by George Barris, Les Tompkins, Dick Dean and Tom Daniels at Barris Kustom City of North Hollywood, California. Test-driven by S.P. Torgeson, the spacey racer doesn’t just look the part, employing a number of cutting-edge and even experimental components to be, as Barris said, “… the 25th-century three-wheel racing car.” To cut to the chase, it uses a 50-pound, fuel-burning turbine engine generating up to 1,000 HP, a V-Drive gear reduction unit and a 2-speed manual transmission sending power directly into a reversed ring-and-pinion rear end that drives each wheel independently to reach 300 MPH in just a quarter-mile. In order to stop the Turbo-Sonic at these speeds, a combination of an offset blown parachute plus four stabilizer wing flaps are used. Stopping the vehicle at lower speeds requires only Airheart disc brakes. Engineered with a lot of safety in mind, the driver sits in a fireproof cockpit encased in a unitized cross-tube roll bar. Controls are operated on a four-stage solenoid electrical system, with inner-cockpit fuel mixture switches, and the entire system can be operated via remote control up to 50 feet away. Furthermore, a two-way radio is used to transmit dial readings and car controlling effects between the driver and pit crew. The Turbo-Sonic’s Delta V-shaped fuselage is an astonishing concert of Space Age products from Reynolds Aluminum and Owens-Corning, among other top brands. Stretching 17 feet from conical nose tip to tail, the structure is a combination of monocoque and cross-frame construction with an alloy tube frame. The lightweight wings are made of fireproof fiberglass and span 7 feet, 9 inches. All in, dry, the Turbo-Sonic weighs just 850 pounds. Capped off by a wild Flame Pearl Yellow, Wild Cherry, red, gold and tangerine exterior, it’s a true Space Race contender and an absolute jewel from the heyday of customs and drags.
