RUST-BUCKET ROCKET
Brit turns rusted-out Volkswagen pickup into jet-powered beast that can travel over 300 mph
This converted rust-bucket is proof that every old, worn-out car can have its day
JUST like you can teach an old dog new tricks, so too can you convert a run-down paddock basher into a jet-propelled super car.
British inventor Perry Watkins has breathed new life into a rusted-out Volkswagen pickup, turning it into a £50,000, jet-powered beast capable of reaching speeds of over 300mph.
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Dubbed Oklahoma Willy, the machine started life as a 1958 model farm truck, and was in less than pristine condition when Watkins had it sent over from Oklahoma in the United States.
In need of a complete restoration, the car was as good as scrap, forcing its new owner to replace 68 panels in total, with the doors and the main chassis the only original structures worthy of keeping.
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Once restored, Watkins then began the modification and installation of a 5,000bhp Rolls Royce jet engine onto the bed of the truck, hooked it up to an on-board computer control unit and signed off on the most powerful 1958 VW anyone has ever seen.
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The entire creation took five years to complete, but recent footage of the car in action has shown that it was more than worth the time.
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Watkins took the jet-powered truck on its first visit to a raceway, hitting the track at Santa Pod drag strip in Bedfordshire, with film of the flaming specimen hurtling down the track going viral.
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Interestingly, Watkins said in an interview last year that he never built the car as a specialist racer, but intended it to be driven on the road.
"It was never developed as a race car, it sits too high really,” he said.
“It’s going to be totally road legal and I’ll only fire up the jet engine at shows.
"That’s not to say I haven’t ruled out the prospect of running it under jet power at some point in the future, though.”
If he ever does get permission to run it on jet power out on the road, just make sure you aren't stopped behind it when the pickup takes off at a set of traffic lights.
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