The Helicron is an

open-wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

car that used a

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

as its drive. The Helicron was abandoned in the late 1930s, but was restored after its barn find in 2000. In the same year, the car was permitted by the French government to drive on the French roads. The car currently resides in the

Lane Motor Museum Lane Motor Museum is located in Nashville, Tennessee and features a collection of mostly European automobiles. The museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, founded by Jeff and Susan Lane, his father having founded the family's automotive ext ...

and is on display, as a concept car. It is also possible to find one Helicron in the Automobile and Fashion Museum of Málaga, Spain.

Restoration

The car was found at a barn in 2000, and was sent to restoration, the wood frame was sandblasted and treated to mint condition, the steering gear was rebuilt, and the interior was upholstered. Every part that was damaged were replaced with the same original ones. However, the engine was searched for by the people who found the barn, but were unsuccessful, and ultimately decided to use a

Citroën GS The GS is a front-engine, front-drive, four or five door, five passenger family car manufactured and marketed by Citroën in two series: for model years 1970-1979 in fastback saloon and estate bodystyles and subsequently as the GSA for model ye ...

flat-four engine A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...

as the motor for the propeller.

Design

The car's design was completely distinctive to the regular cars at the time. The car's Rosengart chassis was flipped 180 degrees, which meant significant modifications were required. This also meant the steering was at the rear wheels. The throttle pedal is non-existent, but instead is on a form of the a lever, where you have to pull down to increase the

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

of the engine, and pull up to not spin the engine at all. The lever is free, which means the lever can be at any position, and the RPM will be at a certain level. The lever was placed on the left, beside the steering wheel. The emergency brake was placed on the left side, where the sideskirt was. The car still has a brake pedal. The propeller is placed in front of the car,

Specifications

The Helicron uses a 1980-spec Citroën GS flat-four engine to power the front propeller. The amount of horsepower and torque the engine produces is unknown. This engine took the original

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

two-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

engine's place, as it was lost in the barn the car was placed in. The Helicron also uses no transmission, and only uses a throttle to power the engine. Because of the simple build, the car weighed only . With the GS engine, the Helicron is able to do .

Reception

Jason Torchinsky of

Jalopnik G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that runs ''Gizmodo'', ''Kotaku'', ''Jalopnik'', ''Deadspin'', ''Lifehacker'', ''Jezebel'', ''The Root'', ''The A.V. Club'', ''The Takeout'', ''The Onion'', and ''The Inventory''. History G ...

reviewed the car in September 15, 2016, and gave the video title the "car that can mulch pedestrians", referencing the Helicron's large front propeller. In the good side of things, he mentioned the car was a great way of making complicated vehicle construction much simpler, like having no transmission and just a throttle. Another thing he mentioned was that the propeller helped with decrease in tire wear, and the entire build helped with the mechanical layout. At the opposing spectrum, he mentioned that at any speed you're in, it always feels dangerous, and that hitting pedestrians up front and center with the propeller will kill them. He also mentioned that the experience feels much worse in an urban city. Torchinsky demonstrated hitting a pedestrian by letting a Jalopnik employee throw sausages towards the propeller. The result was shreds of meat, and a mess of them everywhere on the car and driver. Because of the result, he jokingly said you can eat your food if you were to be a professional thrower.

References

{{reflist Concept cars