SUSPENSION
Much has been rumored about the Jet Car's infamous suspension, but only now has anyone been allowed to take a peek at the patented design that made the vehicle's incredible performance possible. Grinning like a proud father on parent's day, Perfect Tommy took us on a nuts & bolts tour that left us reeling for days.

Up front and underneath, we found a modified inboard cantilever shock & spring assembly, which widens the track as the car builds up speed. This greatly enhanced the 'Ground Effect,' the principle concept behind the vehicle's operation (the Ground Effect occurs when, at a high enough rate of speed, a vehicle becomes slightly airborne (much like hydro planing). While most vehicles become unstable when this happens (and are actually designed to counter it) the Jet Car's design embraces this effect and utilizes it for maximum performance. By significantly reducing rolling resistance and operational weight, the Ground Effect keeps the Jet Car stable at speeds in excess of 500 MPH (winglet spoilers prevent the vehicle from getting too far off the ground). A reconfigurable belly pan enhances optimum performance of the Ground Effect and, at the rear, coil springs and reworked Monroe prototype argon gas shock absorbers (with remote reservoirs) fill in the rest of the picture.

Connecting this automotive Mecca to the ground are BF Goodrich Radial T/A's (245/75/16), custom made for the Banzai Institute from a rubberized kevlar compound. Wrap all this around spun titanium wheels and you're ready for a trip to the local 7-11 at nearly mach-1. If you hit a red light along the way, you'll be pleased to know that a 16' military cargo parachute, nitrogen cooled ceramic discs and carbon fibre brake pads will give you plenty of stopping power.

CONVENTIONAL ENGINE
Although media attention has been primarily focused on the vehicle's incredible jet power, those who have studied it's conventional engine have been equally impressed. "Remember, this baby needs to be able to haul over 6,000 lbs of gear," noted Perfect Tommy, who gave us a look under the hood. To say we were astounded we be putting it mildly.

After the highly modified Ford 460 cid, the first thing we noticed was the Stage Three nitrous oxide system. The headers, exhaust and induction kit were all machined from Perfect Tommy's proprietary designs. Especially of note is how, depending on the vehicle application, exhaust gasses are electrically directed through either straight pipes (for high speed driving) or mufflers (for street driving). Although many other modifications were obvious, they could not be readily identified by our location team. While Tommy was not at liberty to go into further detail, he did allow us to dyno test the car in his lab. The results? And incredible 1120 HP at the rear wheels, with a redline at 8000 RPM. "Buckaroo likes to win at the stoplight," is all Tommy would say.

JET ENGINE
The crown jewel of the Jet Car is a heavily modified GE J85. Fueled by boron- augmented kerosene, it develops nearly 12,000 pounds of thrust (tech-heads out there may be surprised at this less-than-mighty muscle, but keep in mind that Perfect Tommy's Ground Effect suspension (which effectively gives this 6,000 lb behemoth a weight-bearing moment of only 600 lbs) allows the Jet Car to travel more than twice as fast with half the power). The ceramic coated afterburner has been modified to consume a hypergolic fuel (which ignites on contact with air) and a DC-3 oil radiator air scoop has been fitted as the primary air source. The gimbling jet engine is tied via computer to the vehicle's suspension for optimum stability and it's range is an astounding ten miles - with only 200 gallons of fuel! The flame from this puppy fires to nearly 40 feet, and is capable of quick-roasting the BBQ for an entire day's ice cream social in less than 60 seconds.

COCKPIT
Protecting the driver from all this thunder are two rollover structures. The primary tubing is located inside and a secondary is mounted to the outside of the faceted cockpit(the flat plane surfaces of which increase visibility). A Momo steering wheel is provided for conventional driving, although once Ground Effect kicks in, the steering column operates in 'push-pull' mode to provide loading balance (side mounted twist grips are for trim). Prior to Overthruster activation, computer-controlled navigation (with manual override) kicks in. Of course, what fun would a Jet Car be without a state-of- the-art sound system to rock out to? Tunes are provided by dual Rockford-Fosgate amps, serving a Pioneer TP 41-E quadrophonic 8-track player. Spotted on the dash were John Lennon 'Imagine' and ZZ Top "Tres Hombres."

FLYING JET CAR
As we were preparing to leave, Perfect Tommy revealed an incredible new modification that would give actual flight to the Jet Car. This new design (diagrams of which were shown to us by Tommy) involve two clusters of uprated Russian RD-232 hypergolic rockets mounted to the upper chassis on either side. Hydraulic actuators would deploy the assemblies, allowing them to be hidden when not in use. VTOL (Vertical Take Off & Landing) technology precludes the use of a runway, giving the Jet Car total freedom to venture nearly anywhere on the planet. When asked if these modifications had yet been made, Perfect Tommy just smiled and declined comment. A week later, the picture shown here was sent to us by an anonymous source; it has yet to be qualified as genuine or a clever fake.